Elephant seals have made a successful comeback since they were hunted to the brink of extinction in the late 1880s. You can see large colonies of these huge seals at two locations on the central coast of California, Piedras Blancas and Ano Nuevo. Breeding season is the best time to see elephant seals at both locations, starting late in November and continuing through February. At this time you will view battles between large male bulls, birthing of pups, and mating activity.
Take scenic Highway 1 to reach the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas, approximately one to two miles north of San Simeon. Turn in to park in the large lot above the site and you will already hear the honking and snorting of the large males on the beach and in the water below the bluff. While some seals are almost always present on the beaches, peak times are from November through February.
Elephant seals began hauling out onto this secluded beach just south of the lighthouse in 1990.
Talk with docents from the Friends of the Elephant Seals, a group that was formed in 1997, to learn about this colony. They offer information about the seals and provide scopes and binoculars for people to use.
Walk the boardwalk to view the seals below. They lie on the beach, continuously flipping sand over their backs, and now and then two or more males rear up challenging each other with mock battle roars.
Arrive at Piedras Blancas in late November to see the big male seals come ashore and stake out their positions on the beach. Dominant bulls, the ones that have the best chance to mate with the most females, chase away younger or lesser males and take up residence waiting for the females to arrive.
Observe battles between two of these large bulls, vying for mating privileges. When approached by another male, the resident bull will rear up on his hindquarters, throw his head back, and roar out a threat. Each bull rears up and they begin to hurl their bodies at each other, each slashing at the fat around the other's neck with his large canine teeth. Fights can draw blood but usually end with one bull being forced into the water or backing away submissively.
Visit in late December into January to see pregnant females arrive on the beaches. After four or five days a female gives birth to one small pup, black in color.
Visit in January into February when the females are nursing the rapidly growing pups, which start to suckle soon after birth and gain weight rapidly, because elephant seal milk is high in fat content and is considered the richest milk of all mammals.
Visit in mid-February to observe mating, shortly after which the females wean the pups and leave the site. The weaned pups stay on the beach until the end of April.
Visit from late February through April to observe the weaned pups, called "weaners." Watch them as they molt into shiny new coats in March and learn to swim and hunt, then leave one by one during the last three months in April.
Visit Piedras Blancas from May to June to observe molting females and juveniles, then in July and August to observe the molting bulls.
Visit in the fall during the two months before the bulls arrive in late November to observe congregating juveniles.
Travel 19 miles north of Santa Cruz to the Ano Nuevo State Reserve to see the elephant seals that have been coming to this area since the early 1960s. Seals are present on the offshore island and on the mainland beach. Timing for viewing is the same as with the Piedras Blancas site.
Make reservations ahead of time or ask at the Ranger Station at the entrance for a guided tour of the Ano Neuvo site. You can only observe elephant seals here on a tour with a ranger.
