Where
did we go?
Our second trip of the year was to Ano Nuevo State Reserve, an elephant
seal breeding colony south of San Francisco. This is one of the few places
left where humans can observe elephant seals at close range.
What
did we do?
We began at the visitor center with its displays on elephant seals and
reserve plants and animals. Then, we hiked several miles though a tremendous
storm out a coastal bluff and over sand dunes to see the elephant seals.
What did
we observe?
Unfortunately for
us, we happened to visit Ano Nuevo during one of the heaviest Northern
California storms in the past ten years. We encountered gale force winds
of more than 65 miles per hour! The weather conditions prohibited us from
taking any pictures. Here’s a journal entry from Tia Hicks, a 7th
grader.
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March 10th, 2001 "After the storm we were soaked. We were wet from our waist on down. I was one of the people who didn’t bring an extra pair of clothes. We loaded into the vans and went back to the museum. Now let me go back to the start. We only saw the elephant seal pups for ten minutes. We had to walk about two miles during really strong winds and rain. The wind was so strong that it was blowing foam from the beach. When we were almost there we had to cross where there was sand blowing all over the place. When we did see the elephant seals we stayed for like ten minutes like I already said. Then we had to go back to the visitor’s center although it took a long time in the wind and rain. But to me it was worth it." |
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Seal Facts! Elephant seals are well named. Mature males develop an enlarged proboscis which resembles an elephant’s trunk. Adult males may grow to over 13 feet in length and weigh up to 4,500 pounds. The females are much "smaller" at 10 feet in length and 1,500 pounds. |
 Females soon arrive, and form harems with dominant males. Top-ranking males mate with the majority of females. |
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Northern elephant seals roam the northern Pacific Ocean from Mexico to Alaska. Most of the year elephant seals live out at sea. Their diving ability is amazing. They can remain underwater for over an hour and can dive deeper than a mile. During the winter breeding season, they inhabit beaches on offshore islands and a few remote spots on the mainland of California. Males are the first to arrive on the breeding beach. They engage in noisy fights to establish a dominance hierarchy. The males rear up and produce a bizarre rumbling sound by blowing air through their proboscis and then thrust their huge chests at each other biting at their opponent’s neck. |
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 The elephant seal is in the order Pinnipedia and the family Phocidae. Photographs on this page courtesy of Thomas N. Tworek. |
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The females
give birth to pups that weigh 75 pounds and are about 4 feet in
length. The pup nurses for about 28 days, tripling its weight. After
the nursing period, the mother returns to sea. For the next two
months, weaned pups, called "weaners,", remain on the
beach, venturing into the water for short periods of time, perfecting
their swimming and feeding abilities. When they finally venture
out to sea on their own, they will learn how to find and catch fish
and squid, their main diet.
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Let's
Go! Visit
Ano Nuevo State Reserve’s website at: |
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