Elephant Seals

Elephant Seals colonies can be found at selected beaches of the mainland California. The ones we saw were at the Piedras Blancas, near San Simeon, in Big Sur. They come ashore each year to breed and to molt. The rest of the time they are in the water in pursuit of food. The breading season begins in late November and continues till late February. This colony is expanding. The census in 1996 had about 1000 births compared to about 50 in 1993.