Bulls lead charge as adult elephant seals take over SLO County beaches
Carrying their maximum weight in blubber, adult bull elephant seals are arriving at Piedras Blancas north of San Simeon.
Winter is the most dramatic time for the colony. Come for the pups, stay for the mating.
The elephant seal viewpoint remains a safe place to enjoy getting outdoors. Most visitors wear masks, and the fresh air is always stirred by the ocean breeze. There’s plenty of space to see the seals without getting too close to other visitors.
The bulls arrive first, in late November through December. More than 200 bulls make the stretch of beach in northern San Luis Obispo County their breeding grounds.
Pregnant females follow, December through February, to give birth to their pups on the beach.
Look for the first pup to arrive in mid-December. The birth season gathers momentum in January, with more than 5,000 mothers having pups in the rookery, which extends north and south of the viewing area.
Bull elephant seals migrate south
The bulls have been feeding up north, along the Alaskan continental shelf. Males typically dive down and feed at the bottom. They’ve been bulking up for the most physically stressful time of the year. They may spend as long as 100 days on the beach without food.
The nose — technically, proboscis — starts to grow when the seal enters puberty, at about five years old, and continues growing throughout the seal’s life. So it is a rough indicator of age, for males.
The females don’t grow one, keeping a more dog-like face. Look for longer noses on adult bulls.
Along with the nose, they develop a so-called chest shield — thick calloused skin, actually keratinized with the same material that forms our hair and nails. They rip and tear at it when they fight, but it protects them from life-threatening injuries. It bleeds, but it doesn’t tear into open wounds. Look for pink, crinkled skin.
Males fight for dominance
Beachmasters, the dominant bulls who take charge of 30 to 50 females, use threats and bellows to intimidate rivals. The dominance hierarchy helps reduce violence, by establishing who is more dominant. Research has shown that bulls recognize each other’s bellows, and won’t fight again if they have previously settled the issue between them.
Less dominant bulls are always ready to challenge for rights to the harem, but fighting takes a lot of energy. They are living off their blubber while they are on the beach, so conserving energy is important. If they had to leave to eat, they would lose that coveted position as beachmaster.
Most dominance interactions are resolved without a fight. One lifts his head and bellows a challenge, or lumbers across the beach to threaten another. The other raises up, willing to fight if necessary, or retreats, to fight another day. They may sense each other’s size from vibrations in the sand, or may size each other up visually.
The first pups are expected to be born in mid-December. That coincides with the next round of king tides, the highest and lowest tides of the year, which will take place Dec. 13 through 15.
Pups can’t survive in the ocean until after they are weaned, a month or so later, so being born above high tide line is important for survival.
Friends of the Elephant Seal watching for the first pup to be born. Enter your guess as to when at https://mailchi.mp/117da1c845fc/nra2gd31qz. They’re cute when they’re babies.. They’re cute when they’re babies.