Now live with sound! The miracle of life at Piedras Blancas in San Simeon, California. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Michael L. Baird
Every year around this time, elephant seals swarm to California beaches to get it on. Yes, that’s right, the adult seals make baby seals. And, thanks to a webcam at Point Piedras Blancas, you can watch them do it from the comfort of your own home. While you’ll probably just see them laying around, or maybe get a peek of a newborn, you might also catch some of the magic that obligates me to suggest you view at your own risk. Plus, now they’ve got live sound!
Each winter, northern elephant seals, the largest seals in the northern hemisphere, gather on California’s beaches to mate. We’re talking adult males 14- to 16-feet long and weighing well over two fighting for reproductive supremacy. It can get graphic, but you can’t fault them for their enthusiasm–they were, after all, almost hunted to extinction in the late 19th century. At one point, the last surviving colony at Guadalupe Island numbered only 50 seals. With so few of the species left, the pressure was high to make as many baby seals as possible. Then, in the 1920s, hunting bans were enacted, and since then, they’ve been free to get busy. Recent population estimates suggest there are now more than 225,000 of the behemoths.
If you’re brave, you can actually go see these huge colonies in person at two key locations. California Department of Parks and Recreation recommends Año Nuevo State Park along the San Mateo Coast south of San Francisco and the Hearst-San Simeon State Park in San Luis Obispo County. The Parks department says the winter surge of seals is one of the “truly magnificent events of the animal world.”
Considering the distance to some of these parks, Friends of the Elephant Seal provides the webcam. So if you can’t make the trip you can always enjoy the beauty and diversity of our marine life right here on your computer. Just remember, viewer discretion advised.
