Newborn pups are popping up at SLO County elephant seal rookery — along with battling bulls

A few fully mature bull elephant seals are at the Piedras Blancas rookery north of San Simeon, along with a few pregnant females and a few pups.

The first pup of the season was born Dec. 10. The second was born Dec. 18, and more have followed.

Elephant seal mothers do an excellent job, under the circumstances.

The few mothers, who begin the season with plenty of space around them on the beach, are tempting to young, less dominant males.

The attraction is overwhelming, even though the mothers will refuse the males until they come into heat, after they have nursed their pups for a month.

The full-grown male seals known as beachmasters aren’t imposing discipline on those upstarts yet, but watch for signs of dominance.

Although the goal of battling is to establish the dominance hierarchy, once the beachmaster prevails, he can reduce conflict.

Just seeing him makes less dominant bulls bustle away.

That’s what happened when young bull approached a mother and her pup this season, nudging and shoving her around.

She got separated from her pup, which can be serious if they aren’t reunited. A pup separated from its mother can lose out on that rich milk, and even die.

The beachmaster rumbled up toward that miscreant, who looked over his shoulder and headed in the other direction.

Mom found her pup and all three settled down to a long winter’s nap.

Pups are born night and day

You may be lucky enough to be watching when a baby elephant seal is born.

Look for females fussing and tossing a lot of sand. They sometimes toss so much that they build a sort of perch for themselves, with deep ditches dug out on both sides.

Birth starts with a gush of amniotic fluid, as the water breaks.

When they are born, pups are all black, measuring about three feet long and weighing about 70 pounds. They soon plump up on their mothers’ nourishing milk.

The baby seals nurse for a month.

In the last few days of nursing, the mothers mate with one or more males. They wean the pups abruptly when they return to the ocean.

Pregnant females will continue to arrive on the beach into February.

Watch seals from a distance

Bulls that lose out on breeding opportunities find their way to other local beaches, sometimes called bachelor beaches.

Hearst Memorial Beach at San Simeon Cove is one such spot.

Human beach visitors may be surprised by a seal among the driftwood.

Friends of the Elephant Seal will post guides there through March to advise visitors about seals they may encounter.

The seals are not aggressive toward humans, but the bulls that come to San Simeon may

challenge other bulls to fight on the beach.

Human visitors can stay safe by giving the seals a wide berth.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Life Viewing Guidelines, you should get no closer than 50 yards, half a football field, to an elephant seal.

Keep your dog leashed so as not to annoy the marine mammals.

Don’t get between two seals, who may decide to charge each other, or a seal and the water, in case he suddenly decides to go back into the waves.

The Piedras Blancas rookery is proof that seals and humans can peacefully coexist and share the beach. Stay safe and give the seals time to rest.

Check the live webcam for beach conditions at elephantseal.org.