Young elephant seals practice fasting and sparring
Juvenile seals are still on the beach, the last of the juvenile fall haul-out. Most will be gone by the time the adult bulls start arriving at the end of the month.
Young seals, mostly males younger than 6 years, haven’t eaten for the six weeks or so they have spent on the beach. The long fast gets their bodies accustomed to the longer fasts they will endure as adults. Bulls spend as long as 100 days on the beach without food during the December through February breeding season.
Gauge young male seal age by how big that elephant-like nose is. Five-year-olds are just getting a bend. That bend grows into a noticeable trunk in the following year. It grows throughout the seal’s life, so senior seals have very impressive ones, indeed. Technically, it’s called a proboscis.
Young males are preparing for adulthood by sparring with each other for dominance. Dominance can also be expressed when one gives another a threatening look, and one of them moves away. That’s displacement. These youngsters practice taking each other on, butting chests and biting at each other. It’s not serious fighting. That’s yet to come, when they reach adulthood and return to the beach for the breeding season.
November is the calm before the storm of the birthing and breeding season. Bigger, older, more experienced bulls soon stake their claims on the beach. Only the most dominant males get to breed, so there’s a lot at stake. Every male wants to be a beachmaster.
Bulls arrive in December, followed by pregnant females. Usually, the females begin arriving in mid-December, with the first pup born around Dec. 20. Most come to the Piedras Blancas beach, but they may show up from San Simeon Cove to north of the lighthouse.
Elephant seal mothers are wild animals weighing more than 1,000 pounds. They are top predators with big teeth and can be dangerous.
California State Parks is recruiting volunteers to serve as Elephant Seal Ambassadors, directing the public away from beaches where the seals aren’t separated from the people. Contact State Parks Interpreter Robyn Chase at 805-927-2126 or her cell at 805-286-0856 to volunteer.
19 years of docents
Thanksgiving weekend marks 19 years that docents have been greeting the public at Piedras Blancas. Those first 13 docents talked with 1,286 people that weekend.
Back then, there wasn’t a boardwalk or even a fence between the public and the seals. Docents were not only cautioning the public, but educating them about living with wildlife.
That weekend marked the beginning of an organization whose role has made a big difference on the Central Coast. Friends of the Elephant Seal is compiling a history of its organization. If you have photographs or memories from the 1990s that you would like to share, please contact Friends of the Elephant Seal at fes@elephantseal.org.
Christine Heinrichs’ column appears the fourth Thursday of each month and is special to The Cambrian.
Drone restrictions
Unmanned aircraft — drones — have revolutionized marine mammal research. They allow scientists to see animals closer and better.
Their use in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is strictly regulated. Scientists go through a demanding process to qualify for a permit to use them near these legally protected animals. In amateur hands, drones have the potential to frighten the seals, birds and other wildlife. At that point, a flying drone becomes illegal harassment of wildlife. Drones and radio-controlled model airplanes are prohibited in the marine sanctuary.
If you witness someone using a drone or otherwise harassing the seals, tell an FES docent or email the office at fes@elephantseal.org. Their trained volunteers are the eyes and ears of enforcement.
This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 8:14 AM with the headline "Young elephant seals practice fasting and sparring."