Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas

About four miles north of the Hearst Castle along Highway 1 we came to the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery. This is the largest elephant seal rookery on the west coast. We were assured by our hosts at the Olallieberry B&B that the rookery was worth a look – so look we did.

Elephant seals come ashore at the rookery in February to mate and give birth. I assume that the mating and the birthing are separated by some extended gestational period that takes place at sea since elephant seals spend 80% of their life in the open oceans.

There are three important things to know about elephant seals.
1) Elephant seals are not pretty.
2) Elephant seals smell like a mix of bad cheese and dirty socks.
3) There is nothing else worth knowing about elephant seals.

A large bull with his harem. They look like giant sea slugs when they move.

Elephant seal bulls (tipping the scales at two and a half tons – three to five times the size of the elephant seal cows) surround themselves with harems of cows. They will defend their harem against rival bulls. In general the bulls seem to have short tempers and bad manners. The bulls will often rise up and flop their full blubbery bulk down on a smaller cow, or in some cases crush a newborn seal under their massive weight. Of course, my observations are anthropomorphically biased. From the perspective of a bull elephant seal I’m sure that his behavior is reasonably chivalrous and gallant. His fusty scent only enhances his George Clooney good looks.

Elephant seal bull protecting his harem

You can judge for yourself. Be happy that I can only provide visuals. If I could upload olfactory posts you would have to dip your computer in a vat of Febreze after opening the link.