This may look like the seals' graveyard but I can assure you it is not. There are upwards of a thousand males, females and newborn babies along this sandy beach nearly directly across the highway from the Hearst Castle.
When the pups are born they first identify with their mothers by sounds. You can hear them yelping in their high pitched voices, which I assume means they want more milk from their mothers. And they get it.
There is considerable territoriality among the seals. Occasionally a couple of females will get into a roaring session.
The male, having found a secluded spot, naps and naps and naps. After all he's fathered as many as 40 pups in his harem. By the way, the males can weigh as much as 5,000 pounds!
The pups are weaned after about four weeks as the mother abruptly leaves them, mates and heads out to sea once more. The males swim north along the coast as far as the furthest Aleutian Islands. The females have been tracked two-thirds of the way to Japan.
It is important that the pups gain up to 300 pounds by the time they become "weaners", as they are called then because it takes 8 to 10 weeks for it to learn to swim well enough to head north looking for food.
I was surprised, with their huge weight, how fast the animals can move. Take a look at this female moving across the beach.
And one more video. This one shows a male driving a competitor away. Amazingly he backs right over a young pup but he seems not the worse for wear.
The area is protected by a volunteer non-profit organization, Friends of the Elephant Seal. There is a wooden walkway with railings along a lengthy section of the beach for visitors from all over the world. You can learn more and view a LiveCam of the activity on the beach by visiting their website at Friends of the Elephant Seal.
