Bull elephant seals return to SLO County for summer break. Who else is at the beach?

Full-grown elephant seal bulls are returning to the Piedras Blancas rookery north of San Simeon for their summer break from foraging in the Pacific Ocean.

One bull cleared females, juveniles and one subadult bull from his path as soon as he arrived on the beach.

In a video shot by Friends of the Elephant Seal board president Kathy Curtis and posted on the FES YouTube channel, it looks like the seal is taking a long time to secure his place on the beach.

Remember that he hasn’t used his land muscles for three months or more, and now weighs several hundred pounds more than when he was last on land.

Displacement — making other seals move out of his way — is a measure of dominance.

He makes it clear who is dominant on this stretch of beach!

Dominance helps bulls settle their status without having to fight. Summer is a good time for visitors to observe these senior bulls at rest.

Elephant seals are molting

This bull is one of the first to arrive for a few weeks on the beach, to molt his skin.

Some adult females and juveniles linger on the beach in San Luis Obispo County, completing their molts. They will leave on their next migration, leaving the beach to the bigger bulls for the summer.

Elephant seals molt their skin annually. The old brown and tan skin peels off in chunks, revealing the new skin underneath.

New hairs are just beginning to grow, so the skin looks gray at first. As the hair grows, the color becomes brown.

The upper layer of skin is new, but old scars remain. Look for the skin to begin peeling off around the eyes and old scars.

FES docents have samples of bristly molted elephant seal skin. Ask to see and touch it.

Some people describe it as feeling like Astroturf.

Elephant seals don’t have the lush fur of some other seals and otters. The seals rely on their blubber, not their fur, for warmth.

Pregnant female seals prepare to migrate

Adult female elephant seals are leaving to go on a long migration. They’ll spend the next seven months feeding at sea, pregnant with the next generation.

The embryos conceived after the elephant seals weaned their pups last winter have been suspended since then.

Now, after they finish molting, those embryos begin developing.

The females will return in winter to give birth.

Juvenile migration

Juvenile elephant seals are also headed out, but for a shorter migration. They’ll return to the shores of San Luis Obispo County in the fall for their annual Haul-Out.

Juvenile migrations are less studied than adults, so Heather Liwanag and the rest of Team Ellie at the Vertebrate Integrative Physiology Lab at Cal Poly have been tagging weaned pups and tracking them on their first migrations to see where they go.

According to the team’s research, the young elephant seals knew to head north. Some ventured much further than others.

You can check out maps showing the seal’s routes at calpoly-viplab.com/satellite-tags. Try out the zoom and measurement features of the map.

Piedras Blancas lighthouse hosts Open House

Piedras Blancas Light Station will be open for free visits on July 5 and 19 and Aug. 2 and 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hike in from the north parking lot of the elephant seal viewpoint at the Boucher Trail trailhead or from the Boucher Trail trailhead a mile north of the lighthouse.

Observe the elephant seals from several other vantage points along the trail.

For more information, check the Piedras Blancas Light Station website or email PiedrasBlancasTours@gmail.com.