Largest number of juvenile seals visible now at Piedras Blancas

Young seals fill the beach at Piedras Blancas during October. It’s their Fall Haul-Out, six weeks of rest and rough-and-tumble play among the youngsters.

Many are big — but not nearly as big as the adult bulls who will take over the beach in December. In the fall, juvenile seals, both males and females, come to the beach. Since they are solitary on their migration, they arrive one by one, from late summer through November.

The crowd builds to the largest number of seals on the beach in late October and early November. They gradually leave, one by one, to spend the next six months foraging. The mature adults will occupy the beach during the winter breeding season.

Young males are the ones sparring with each other, in the water or on the sand. Females don’t chest bump each other. They might snarl and snap at another seal that’s climbing over them.

The seals clump together on the beach, flopping right over one another if the mood strikes. Mostly, the others take no notice, or shift a bit to accommodate.

The smallest seals on the beach are the young of the year, the pups born in January. Only about half survive the first migration and come back for their first haul-out. They may not have gained much weight, but any seal on the beach is a survivor.

Central Coast history

The Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery is relatively new. The seals were reported on the beach near the lighthouse in 1990. The first birth of a pup was observed in 1992. More seals arrived every year, soon causing problems along the highway.

Drivers stopped along Highway 1. Excited visitors climbed down to the beach to get close to the seals. Occasionally a seal parked himself on the highway. Collisions killed seals and totaled cars. The situation was dangerous for both sides. Something had to be done.

Usually, this kind of interaction between humans and wildlife does not end well for the critters. People generally want their way, and the wildlife gets killed or chased off.

In this case, however, local people stepped up and worked with government agencies and the Hearst Corp. to create a solution.

The individuals who envisioned a happy outcome for both seals and the public founded Friends of the Elephant Seal, which began its training program for docents in 1997 so the public could be welcomed to observe the animals without risk to either side. People learn about the seals and their ocean habitat, and the seals live their lives unmolested. A win-win.

The Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery has become a major tourist attraction. Hundreds of thousands come from around the world to see the seals. It’s an unusual opportunity for the public to see a herd of wild animals without having to take a safari. Free! I tell visitors, “The people of California are holding this in trust for the world.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Largest number of juvenile seals visible now at Piedras Blancas."