For about five years in a row, I kicked off the new year with a visit to the
Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve located just south of
Half Moon Bay, CA (about
55 miles south of San Francisco). Año Nuevo means 'New Year' in Spanish and the state reserve is also the location of the largest mainland breeding colony of
Northern Elephant Seals in the world. They typically haul out on islands located far off the mainland. About this time of the year is the peak season for birthing and breeding and it's an incredible sight to witness live. I would go several times - first, in December to watch the males come in and stake out their territory. I've seen some incredible battles between males that are about 14-16 feet long and can weigh up to 2.5 tons! Actually, the best battle I saw was down in
San Simeon, which is just down the road from the Hearst Castle on the California central coast. I went down there with family and actually told them to take the tour of the castle (I seriously couldn't be bothered, anyway) while I watched the behemoths battle it out for over an hour. Exhausted and bloodied, one bull finally headed back out to the water and went to find a spot further down the beach (awww...I always root for the underdog).
At the end of December, the females (much smaller in size averaging 10-12 feet in length and weighing about 1,000 - 2,000 lbs) start to show up and haul out on shore to form harems and give birth. This peaks at around end of January. I would time my second visit of the season around or soon after the new year to check out this process. Then, typically, through the end of March, the females are nursing their young then mating with the dominant bull in their harem. Finally, the adults head back out to sea leaving the young weaners to fend for themselves and learn to swim. And, this is when I schedule another visit to gawk at the weaners who have grown and gained so much weight in a very short amount of time. Most will stay until the end of April before heading out to feed along the coasts of northern Washington and British Columbia. They will return to Año Nuevo to molt (shed all their hair and skin) during the spring and summer months.
It's an amazing sight to see and hear in person. The bulls' sounds are deep and guttural to match their immense size. So many pups are crushed by males who continue to fight off other harem-less males (again, awwwww) who try to poach on the females lying on the outer part of their harem. At the
Marine Mammal Center, located further north in
Sausalito in the
Marin Headlands, I used to be a docent and I would stand next to a life-size statue of a fully-sized Northern Elephant Seal bull. Yeah, you don't want to be in his way when he decides to charge. And, don't be fooled by their size because they can move extremely fast on land. For this reason, you can only visit the reserve during breeding season on
scheduled tours with a docent. Tickets do sell out fast so purchase them in advance. It really is worth it and an excursion that the entire family would enjoy.
For about five years in a row, I kicked off the new year with a visit to the Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve located just south of Half Moon Bay, CA (about 55 miles south of San Francisco). Año Nuevo means 'New Year' in Spanish and the state reserve is also the location of the largest mainland breeding colony of Northern Elephant Seals in the world. They typically haul out on islands located far off the mainland. About this time of the year is the peak season for birthing and breeding and it's an incredible sight to witness live. I would go several times - first, in December to watch the males come in and stake out their territory. I've seen some incredible battles between males that are about 14-16 feet long and can weigh up to 2.5 tons! Actually, the best battle I saw was down in 
San Simeon, which is just down the road from the Hearst Castle on the California central coast. I went down there with family and actually told them to take the tour of the castle (I seriously couldn't be bothered, anyway) while I watched the behemoths battle it out for over an hour. Exhausted and bloodied, one bull finally headed back out to the water and went to find a spot further down the beach (awww...I always root for the underdog).
At the end of December, the females (much smaller in size averaging 10-12 feet in length and weighing about 1,000 - 2,000 lbs) start to show up and haul out on shore to form harems and give birth. This peaks at around end of January. I would time my second visit of the season around or soon after the new year to check out this process. Then, typically, through the end of March, the females are nursing their young then mating with the dominant bull in their harem. Finally, the adults head back out to sea leaving the young weaners to fend for themselves and learn to swim. And, this is when I schedule another visit to gawk at the weaners who have grown and gained so much weight in a very short amount of time. Most will stay until the end of April before heading out to feed along the coasts of northern Washington and British Columbia. They will return to Año Nuevo to molt (shed all their hair and skin) during the spring and summer months.
It's an amazing sight to see and hear in person. The bulls' sounds are deep and guttural to match their immense size. So many pups are crushed by males who continue to fight off other harem-less males (again, awwwww) who try to poach on the females lying on the outer part of their harem. At the Marine Mammal Center, located further north in Sausalito in the Marin Headlands, I used to be a docent and I would stand next to a life-size statue of a fully-sized Northern Elephant Seal bull. Yeah, you don't want to be in his way when he decides to charge. And, don't be fooled by their size because they can move extremely fast on land. For this reason, you can only visit the reserve during breeding season on scheduled tours with a docent. Tickets do sell out fast so purchase them in advance. It really is worth it and an excursion that the entire family would enjoy.
2 comments:
Totally - it's so worth visiting the park during the mating season! We went there in Feb. last year. Although many of the seals were gone by then, there were some big ones. We spent a wonderful day in the park and the beaches. We went to Santa Cruz the next day and hang around downtown, UCSC and the beaches. If you have a chance to stop by Santa Cruz next year, let me know. I’ll give you a recommendation of a really good Greek restaurant there :)
Go SC Banana Slugs! Forget greek food, Maki. I'll meet you in Milpitas for some dim sum!
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