California Coastal Commission

Elephant Seals, Piedras Blancas, © Tina Carlson

Elephant seals can be seen nearly year-round near Point Piedras Blancas. California State Parks manages a parking lot with interpretive panels at the Elephant Seal Viewing Area, 4.7 miles north of San Simeon in northern San Luis Obispo County. The Friends of the Elephant Seal organize a docent program that staffs the site every day from 10am to 4pm, every month except September.

Elephant seal social structure is male-dominant; however, rather than defending territories as sea lions and fur seals do, elephant seal males establish a dominance hierarchy among themselves through brief but violent battles. The top-ranking male mates with most females. The breeding season of these animals is from December to March.

Once numerous in the Pacific Ocean, elephant seals were slaughtered in large numbers during the 19th century for their oil-rich blubber. At the low point of their population, only a few dozen elephant seals remained on Guadalupe Island off Baja California. During the 20th century, the number of elephant seals grew, and the animal established rookeries on the Channel Islands, Año Nuevo Island in San Mateo County, and Southeast Farallon Island off San Francisco. Later, breeding colonies appeared on the mainland. Since 1990, northern elephant seals have established a large breeding colony near Point Piedras Blancas. At first the colony occupied a small cove near the lighthouse, but it has grown rapidly, both in numbers and in territory, expanding to additional beaches along Highway One. In 1995, 600 pups were born near Point Piedras Blancas, and the following year, there were 1,000 new pups. In 2005, 3,500 pups were born, and the number of elephant seals at Point Piedras Blancas was estimated at about 14,000, although not all of them are present at any one time. The largest colonies of elephant seals are found at San

"Gossip Time," Elephant Seals north of San Simeon © Ralph Wessel

Nicolas and San Miguel Islands; the total population of the species is estimated at 150,000.

Females give birth from the end of December through February. After pups are weaned, the mothers depart, leaving their offspring to teach themselves how to swim. Adult males also leave the land, spending the next few months feeding at sea. During the spring and summer, adults and juveniles of both sexes return for a month or so to the beaches to molt. After molting, the seals once again take to the ocean to feed. In the fall, they haul out on the shore, first the youngest, followed by the mature males at the end of November and females ready to give birth in mid-December.

When male elephant seals are fighting for dominance, they can move surprisingly fast. Visitors do not want to find themselves in the path of one of these animals that weighs as much as a pickup truck. Elephant seals are protected by law; it is both illegal and dangerous to approach or harass the animals.



-Excerpts from Experience the California Coast, Beaches and Parks from Monterey to Ventura, by the California Coastal Commission, available from UC Press.