You've Gotta See These!

We went to Ano Nuevo State Park in Santa Cruz and had a unique opportunity to see elephant seals during breeding season. They come to this beach by the hundreds (we saw more than 700 seals) to give birth, breed, and go back to sea. Just to help you appreciate how big these animals are, here are a few fast facts:
~full grown males can be up to 15 feet long and can weigh 5,000 pounds
~babies are born at about 70 pounds, and in 4 weeks grow to be almost 300 pounds
~one male "owns" a harem of females and must be prepared to defend his position at all times against others that might want to challenge him. In other words, they fight a lot!

We got to come within 25 feet of these guys, so it was pretty interesting.

This is a young male. He has nothing to do because he's not old enough or big enough to fight off another male for the rights to all the sex, I mean, breeding.

Mama and newborn baby.

They know how to live--lay around on the sand and sleep.

This guy is just letting others know that he is boss and owns all the women.

Here is another young male who doesn't stand a chance, but is wishing he did.

We highly recommend this tour if you're ever down in Santa Cruz in January. We learned a lot and got to see some really interesting wildlife!