Visiting the Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo State Park

Hi!! It's pretty obvious I've done a terrible job of updating my blog in 2020... Granted, this year has been a hard one. But I had some free time today and decided to go through my photos from January when we visited Año Nuevo State Park to check out the elephant seals.This adventure was totally my father-in-law's idea. He planned his trip from Seattle to California a few months ahead of time and even purchased our seal tickets for us - so kind! Adam and I didn't know anything about this, so we were excited to see what all the fuss was about.After we checked in, we walked about half a mile out to the beach. It was such a pretty place! I love the morning mist.Before we could enter any of the viewing areas, rangers had to make sure the path leading to the ocean was clear. If the seals were in the way, we had to wait for them to move. They rule the beach!Northern elephant seals come ashore to give birth and mate from early December through March. Bull seals engage in battles for breeding access to the females from early December through January.We saw plenty of fights. Lots of bloody seals with big tooth punctures. I guess you have to sleep with one eye open in the elephant seal world.Pregnant females come ashore to give birth to pups from late December to early February, and mothers nurse them for about a month before mating and returning to the sea. By early March, most of the adults have returned to the sea.A pregnant seal gave birth while we were there! The seagulls all fought over the placenta. Ah yes, nature.We saw plenty of males going after the females... I felt bad for the ladies! Most of them had little pups huddled up next to them, too. The males didn't seem to care, haha.Even though they aren't the most beautiful creatures, they sure are amazing. Did you know they can dive more than a mile below the surface? "In 2012, marine biologists tracked a northern female’s progress as she descended to the amazing depth of 5788 feet under the surface. Elephant seals are great at holding their breath and can remain submerged for up to two hours straight." (source)Within a single month, northern elephant seal pups quadruple their birth weight."Once the lactation process starts, these pups grow up fast: In just 30 days, an average pup will go from weighing 75 to 300 pounds." (source)Another fun fact:"In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, scrawny, cave-dwelling Moria orcs emit an eerie battle screech. When creating their cries, sound effects designer David Farmer found an oceanic source of inspiration.'[The] major signature sound for them was … elephant seal pups,' he said in 2010. Farmer describes the unique noise as 'a nice projecting call,' lending itself nicely to reverberation. 'The scene in the mines of Moria at the Drums in the deep are all elephant seals distanced.' These aren't the only pinniped noises in the trilogy. According to Farmer, the muscle-clad Uruk orcs were vocally based 'on sea lions, especially for the pain reactions, with tigers and leopards for more aggressive attacks.'" (source)Here's a clip from the movie:Males have massive, inflatable snouts."A male’s most conspicuous feature is, of course, something that females lack—namely, his bulbous nose, which comes with a sack-like appendage known as a proboscis. Expanding the proboscis enables an elephant seal to amplify snorts, grunts, and loud, drum-like bellows that can be heard several miles away." (source)They were so lazy, stinky, and LOUD! They sound like motorbikes or something. They make the strangest noises. Aside from the pig-like grunting, you can hear the pups calling out in that video. They sound like monkeys to me!This sweet pup was all alone taking a snooze. He was roped off so nobody could get too close. I had to have a mini photo shoot with him.We were stuck for quite a while up on a hill because a bunch of seals decided to come ashore and nap on every single pathway leading back to the visitor center. The rangers supervised the seals and let us know when it was okay to cross.It was a really cool experience and I'm so glad we went. My only regret is that I didn't rent a longer lens! They're pretty ugly though, maybe it's good I wasn't able to zoom any closer...If you'd like to plan a trip to see the seals, here's some more information. In my opinion, I don't think you need to do the guided tour with a docent. We went without one and it was nice walking to each viewpoint on our own time.I stayed in one spot for a really long time and took a ton of photos - I would have been bummed if we were with a guide and had to leave before I was able to get some good shots!I hope you're doing well and staying safe, wherever you are. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that life will go back to normal soon... As always, thanks for reading. xo