It must be good to be an elephant seal bull…..
weigh 5000 pounds,
own beach front property,
and have a harem.
Then again, maybe not so good,
you can’t win every battle,
and losing looks too painful!
It must be tough to be a bull….
and sometimes quite discouraging….
Cheers to you from the extraordinary elephant seal bulls at Big Sur California~
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These are incredible Cindy! I’d love to hug them!
They are a little on the big side though………lol!
Talk about a hefty embrace, huge grin, I’d love it!
Big Love! LOL!
I imagine that if anyone could hug one of these Big boys, it would probably be you, Beautiful Belinda 🙂 I once saw a series of photos of a woman sitting with her legs extended (she was clothed) and I think it was two or three females, maybe four, came over and rested their heads on her legs. She did have difficulty getting up, but did not feel threatened. Perhaps they were another similarly sized critter, or maybe it was near here? I don’t remember I wonder if some seasons of the year are safer due to hormone fluctuations?
Cindy, these other photos were interesting, but they were not art. Most of your photos could stand alone in a gallery and be the show. The rest would outshine Nat. Geo. My opinion. I am not an official anything.
Did you know that Helen Keller was the first to discover that African lions purr. How? Being deaf and blind, she wanted to put her hand on the male lions throat, just to see if she could interpret — the way she was taught to feel the vibrations in her own throat in order to speak. It has since been found that lions DO have the resonating bone to purr. However no one else has dared to listen. The lion not only allowed her to approach, but purred for her. It is so low that we can’t hear it with ear hearing.
Sometimes, when something precious is taken away, a different sort of understanding is — I was going to say given, but that is wrong. A different sort of enhanced or broader understanding is earned, through sacrifice and discipline and transcendence. I’ve been wanting to say that to each of you, but couldn’t seem to make it fit in, anywhere… and viola 😀 Here you both are.
Please excuse me for butting in. Today I wrote you, Belinda, a Christmas card, used summertime bird stamps … I slipped over here to see these Big Boy Beach Bums and here you both are!! <3 <3
You are a wealth of knowledge and I loved reading your comment! It could be a post in itself you know, meaningful to many I feel, particular as it pertains to Helen Keller. I’m grinning because I would so love to hug one! I’m excited to know mail is coming!!! Did you receive my card? I do hope so. HUGE HUGS
Of course if you change you mind about wanting to cuddle cold wet sandy mountains, the pool maintenance/life guards/view enhancers are in the off season now, and would be happy to fly up to Canada.
I have some actual practical ideas that I shall post on your blog..’Tis not really about elephant seals or art or travel or photography, but more like elephant seal substitutes, you know, if Pierre and Jose’ are not quite suitable, too light weight…..oh, and don’t worry, it is not inflatable. Hahahaha!
If I made a blog post about any of thi, I would feel compelled to document stuff… what a bother. This is just hearsay and ideas amongst … sisters.
I am smiling ear-to-ear! I love your playful side! Huge hugs
Well I can’t imagine a nicer group for a chat.
That is a fascinating story about Helen Keller. And yes, maybe it is the things we don’t have that make us better. The hardships we face, that can make us kinder, gentler and wiser. Like both of you. <3
My children and I had the opportunity to touch a lioness at the San Diego Zoo. It was an indescribable experience. She licked our hands with a tongue that was gentle and warm but like the heaviest, roughest, sand paper. The sense of her contained power was overwhelming. I can't imagine what a male lion would be like. My son observed a dying tiger and was powerfully affected by the experience. With these male elephant seal bulls, who weigh up to 5000 pounds, and females who are so much smaller, the sense of power differential is compelling, but then you see the males beat each other up, and you realize they are all engaged up in a web survival. The most heinous thing in the northern elephant seal’s story is that we hunted them to a worldwide population of less than 50. The surviving populations lack genetic diversity due to this slaughter. The Smithsonian reportedly launched a survey to count the remaining seals, found an isolated island with 8 seals on it, and killed 7 of them for samples.
Aggressive, entitled humans are of course the most brutal creatures on the planet, as we see horribly everyday in the news. The gentle ones, like you and Belinda, need to take the helm.
I read today that there have been zero surviving O
rca babies in the last three years. Zero. Is that true?
“Experts: 100% death rate for baby killer whales along West Coast — ‘Alarm bells ring’ as no newborns have survived in past 3 years — “This is absolutely the worst thing possible”, pregnant orca dies with decomposing stillborn full-term fetus inside — “We’re going to lose them… they’ll be extinct for sure” We only had one planet – and we’ve trashed it GOOD.
http://bit.ly/1upTJcE”
I posted an idea for a substitute for a cold wet sand mountain for some comfort with nerve damage.
Greenpeace, Earth First, Nature Conservancy, even Avaaz are all trying. What is “Agenda 21” about?
But the onslaught is so constant and pervasive… like a miasma seeping in….
BTW many creatures, including humans have gone through genetic bottlenecks. Nature is amazing. Look at what is happening to arctic foxes kept in captivity for their fur … they are diversifying, from only a few captive pairs … multi-colored coats and other gene expressions that would not have been seen in the wild … dunno if its good or bad, it just is. There are albino crocodilians living in the warm runoff from nuclear reactors in France. FRANCE!
P.S. I am not always gentle. I can and have been quite harsh. However a sustained consistent effort at anything is beyond me. I have limits to my energy and to my pain tolerance that seem harsh to me in the choices I am forced to make. But there it is. I am blessed in that I do get to still make choices. Many people, many writers on WP don’t get to make the choices I am privileged, or cursed, to make.
I cannot be at the helm of anything, anymore. I would likely keel the entire ship over .also I am fairly far away from everything, and not all services are entirely reliable, including our internet server. I don’t even own a cell phone … I really do live on the edge of the swamp. And I really have been a hermit for a long time. And I have, on occasion, been spectacularly naïve. And the animals must be cared for twice/day and sometimes more, regardless of how any one feels, make that regardless of how I feel.
I loved reading what you just wrote about your children and the lions and tiger and the seals. Some of that fat on the males is sacrifice flesh. My oungest explained to me about how gladiators tried to keep a paddng of fat to protect muscles and essentials… like the seals, it could be injured or lost and the being survive. “Tis sacrifice flesh.
Good night, Cindy of the Kind <3 Heart.
Oh the music is just wonderful! Thank you for sending it to me. I am always buying Celtic music as it centers me and this seems similarly evocative. Cheers to you my gentle, “sometimes harsh,” friend. PS, I don’t want to be at the helm of anything anymore either. <3
Wings of Rapture Hagalaz’ Runedance written and sung by Andrea Nebel
Dragon fly! Dragon fly! Through my eyes to the soul so old, From where? Dragon fly! Dragon fly! Spirit so young, filled with dreams and hopes… Never grow old! Dragon fly! Dragon fly! Broken Wings chained until the end Beauty that will die
Ouch! Yes there certainly is a downside.
Indeed…….
Cindy, your passion for wildlife shines through so strongly here, beautiful job!
Awwww, so kind and so motivating!
To lay by the sea all day and just zzzzzzzzz…what a life lol 😉
The ultimate California lifestyle…….
Exactly 😀
Great photos. Looks like a lazy harem. If you didn’t know they were battling you, might think that are harmonizing to “Wooly Bully” 😉
Laughing……..
Well, I just find these bruts absolutely adorable. Aww.
They are pretty darn cute aren’t they……..and they do not look very happy either.
Spectacular!
They are just magnificent and so impressive~
Those are some spectacular photos! Yes, those bulls must get pretty chewed up by the end of the season.
It is a pretty intense way to live with lots of competition for females, few males getting access, most excluded. As dominant males age, they get increasingly torn up.
Loved this!
So motivating! Thank you~
Oh dear, poor guy. That does look really awful. That was not a good day for him. They’re so beautifully graceful in the water. A shame about gravity and having to blubber onto a beach. I suppose they aren’t near as vain as me. LOL
You are hilarious, we can all relate to a little excess blubber on a beach and to ellies it might be quite attractive. Maybe the ellies are on to something…….. 😉
Some days are just tough even for an elephant seal. How is their body odour?
Funny I never thought of this, but there wasn’t much that I detected, not like sea lions who can really reek….
So that makes the viewing pleasant. 🙂
They are such marvelous, expressive and sensitive creatures. Thanks for sharing these lovely images.
I couldn’t help seeing this exhausted, resignation in the eyes of the males. I think they are stoical and majestic.
I love them. I’ve also heard of how much seals are hated for eating salmon. Some seals are actually being shot for eating the salmon at Washington state salmon reservoirs.
Yes, before the marine mammal act was passed there were few seals/sea lions in socal waters because fisherman would shoot them. And of course there were basically no sea otters. The act has made a big visible difference in sea mammal populations in my lifetime, which is cause for hope.
Aww look at those faces. I would love to look them right in the face from a safe distance of course.
If you look at every photo I took of the alpha males on beaches where we were the only humans, you would see the same dynamic, initially they watch you, usually with one eye peeking and one closed, once they determine that you are not going to come too close they close both eyes and snooze. When you walk away, they open their eyes to watch you for a second or two. They are I think constantly observant of strangers in their environment, unless there are a lot of people like in Piedras Blancas where they tune the people out.
That’s incredible that you got to see them so close-up! Beautiful 🙂
I was just now looking at another of your horse eye close ups and thinking the same thing. You and I photograph animal eyes.
They speak so loud, don’t they?
They do and tell us of deep feelings…..
Wow, what a find! They look they were singing in unison 🙂
What one could call a hostile duet~
Next time a recording? 🙂
“It’s good to be the king.” – Mel Brooks, as King Louis XVI in “History of the World, Part 1” 🙂
I have always loved this line even though I often doubt it’s veracity….
Wow such huge beasts I wish to see them live
Yes, and continue to prosper!
Wonderful photos – I especially like the smooth and silky harem, such a contrast to the more interesting elephant seal bulls – I always love your work Cindy 🙂
You are very kind and a wonderful blogger friend. Cheers to you my friend~
Wowzer!!!!!
Good word for them!!!
Fabulous images….thank you:)
Thank you more for the appreciation!
Incredible pictures Cindy! I imagined you’d have zoomed in with the camera for a lot of these pictures (scary thought getting too close to those males while they’re fighting!) But anyhow, how close were you from them (on average)?
We got closer at the empty beaches, if you look at the photo of the harem above you can see the distance precisely. I walked all along the edge of the raised ridge taking photos. I was always above them.
All that water and no beer. erg 🙂
Laughing…..those bulls look they could use several beers!
Einen schönen Freitag was für tolle Aufnahmen wunderschön wünsche dir einen schönen dritten Advent lieber Gruß Gislinde
Frohe Feiertage zu Ihnen mein lieber Freund Gislinde ! <3 <3
Definitely wouldn’t want to be a bull thanks!! 😉
Nope, and if I was, I would hang out on my own island and hope a like minded female might swim up…….
These elephant seals are huge, Cindy.
Big, big boys!
Just don’t get between two of the males as they can charge at any time and it is unbelievable how fast they can be!
Yes, they can move along all right and one needs to keep their distance from these big boys…..
Absolutely! Years ago I took my kids to see them and they were surprised. I think it is one of those things you have to see to believe.
Chicks dig scars, tho!
Haha!
It’s that tough guy vibe……. 😉
Those elephant sea bulls aren’t too much different from human men, are they? Lounge around the beach, get into a scruff, then sleep it off. 😀 The photos are great, thanks for sharing!!!
Laughing……I am always struck by our similarities with other mammals.
Liebe Cindy, tolle Bilder, beste Wünsche, Klaus
Sie sind sehr freundlich und frohe Feiertage Klaus !
Taking advantage of a lull in my morning to visit you and the seals.
Wow! Good that they are protected now.
I wonder if like deer they would be culled if the population got to great for the area?
Fifty seems like a very small number. But enough to revive them!
I hope no culling, they are still vulnerable due to inbreeding, and it is pretty amazing they have revived to this extent~
The earth is an amazing place.
As well as most of the people 🙂
Reminds me that there really are sunny days. The Northeast has been under grey skies for weeks. I want to cuddle on the beach and soak in the rays. These are such endearing creatures.
They are big handsome galoops aren’t they, but they can be pretty tough too. I hope the sun breaks through for you soon!
Thanks for this extraordinary insight into a species very different, but also eerily similar, to our own.
Yes, I think historically we humans have decried the application of sentience and emotion in mammals in order to justify killing them. My thinking about this has evolved since I started taking photos and looking closely into their eyes. I see intelligence staring back at me.
These are interesting animals and wonderful pictures – a great report 🙂
Many greetings
I am very encouraged that you enjoyed it my friend!
Oh. My. Gosh. What absolutely GORGEOUS beasts – fantastic captures – I can hear them from here!
It was really a thrill to pull up to a stretch of coastline and hear the males bellowing before you could see them. Quite fantastic actually, but I love seeing wild animals in natural habitats.
Here, here to animals in their natural habitats!
Wow! No sitting around a conference table working out their differences. Back to basics. As for the first picture. Kind of looks like me in the morning. LOL Wonderful photographs.
Laughing, a couple of the pics look like I feel on a really bad day!!! 😉
Awesome photos. Yeah, I think it’d be tough maintaining territory for a bull, always being challenged. A lot like having teenagers. 😉
Laughing, yes. I read up on them a bit, but I need to find out what happens to aging bulls. I bet they get torn up and wonder what they do, when they can no longer hold their harem…..
I imagine their Sultan life is pretty short, as younger/stronger males eventually take over. (I read average life span is only 9 years for males, longer for females.)
Waaah <3 <3 <3 <3 🙂
Laughing……..Loveable chunkers aren’t they!
Great photos.
Mil grazi~
Thanks again, Cindy. You surprise me always with unexpected beautiful and curious photographs and comments.
And I am an admirer of your talent and creativity~
Such odd looking creatures but so interesting. I feel bad for the scarred one you photographed and yet, realistically, I would imagine quite a majority are the same. Wonderful photos, Cindy.
You can see so many healed scars on all the males, and the females often have surface bleeding probably from hunting, I’m guessing, as mating is not occurring now.
Poor babies….okay, poor 5000# babies!
I enjoyed this friendly and funny beginning with the sea bulls, especially the comment about beach front property, Cindy! ha ha!
I am saddened that any animal fights but I am sure this will be okay, just like people that punch or fight. I only wish that there were one on one combats in our world, this would cut back on a lot of deaths… Peace on Earth… Happy Holidays, to you and yours, Cindy!!
Peace and Happy Holidays to you my friend~ <3
That’s just a lotta bull !!! Great pics, Cindy. That bull just looks tooooo huge to be real !!! 🙂
5000 pounds of swimming bull is more than I can comfortably contemplate! 😉
Wonderful and expressive faces and photos.
I was struck by their faces and expressions as well. Thanks for noticing~
These are amazing creatures! Beautiful shots, and of course they own beachfront property. I’m not sure I know why man thinks he can sell and buy what was only ever his to share.
Um… are the girls as gorgeous as the guys? Are they all called sea bulls, even the girls?
i will be posting the mom’s next, it is just my opinion of course, but i think the ladies are much better looking, more refined……laughing…… i am with you on the property bit, i would much rather these guys have it then any human. they take much better care of the real estate. they enhance the views too. i call them bulls, but this is probably incorrect, they just seem well, bullish to me, like more intimidating versions of the free range bulls at The Holler……and the free range bulls at The Holler are intimidating when you both are on the same side of the fence.. laughing more…….
They have scars all over the place. Must have tough life. For some reason, I think they are like dog but water based dog.
Yes, the scars are all over and I think you are righ on the touch life. The faces are very expressive and have the same feel as domestic dogs. I agree with all of your observations~
When I saw these big fellas, I was reminded to keep my distance!
Oh yes, they don’t seem eager for a cuddle……
What extraordinarily odd but at the same time, beautiful creatures!
Perfectly said!
Amazing creatures and the bulls may have some privileges, ie the girls, but oh boy do they ever have to earn that right. Great photos Cindy.
Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem worth it to me. I’d rather just go swimming…….Laughing` 😉
Maybe it is an age thing Cindy, joining you in laughter… 🙂
Errrrrr, or maybe not, I am not going to endure wounds requiring surgery at any age…….I mean there is always chocolate for heaven’s sake……. there must be elephant seal chocolate equivalents, some succulent shrimp perhaps?????
Fantastic pictures, Cindy! Like everything in life, being an elephant seal bull has its pros and cons…
Cindy, thank you for these awesome images of sealions. One must wonder, how they move all that weight around. Hugs! Veraiconica
Cindy, such a HAPPY POST! just fun and a nice treat from the red and green of Xmas (which I am not tired of yet, but this was culture rich too)
Yay! The made me happy and I am glad they did you too. Thank you~
Beautiful Pictures, thank you very much Cindy….💗💗💗
Your most welcome and have a great wochende!
What a lovely set of photos & a great way to start my morning! I had no idea so many of them gathered there.
So pleased you enjoyed them and cheers to you~
Do they notice you taking pictures?
Oh yes, wild animals tend to know a human is in their space long before we notice the animal. It can be disconcerting when you fix the telephoto on animals you just spotted and see them all looking at you.
As I mention I watch NETGO and Animal Planet and the animals do seem to look right in the camera. Especially watching the lions. The camera men seem so close and the lions don’t seem concern.
Lions are so incredible, seeing them in the wild was a major life thrill…They came up to our open vehicle, but they were hunting and not us, so they streamed around us. Fabulous~
Amazing shots, Cindy. What awesome creatures they are. 🙂
They definitely command one’s complete attention~
Battle scars.
Tons of scars, lots of battles~
Duh… Stupid me as always… Working backwards (because you’re behind) is not smart. Big Sur, eh? I never knew there were that many seals up there. There’s only a couple here now and I know there are hundreds up in Frisco…but Big Sur? Wow…or is it duh? 🙂
It’s not duh, not even close. I always read sequential blog posts backwards, I sort of enjoy it. I just sent your Tokyo firebombing series to my friend Junko who comes from there. It should be published. Have you considered submitting it? It really is outstanding, if painful, but so important for people to read.
Thanks for sharing it and the encouragement! Alas, I am not a writer and even if I pursued “publishing”, it will likely be a drain financially… Not enough courage! 🙂
Das sind viele. LG. Wolfgang
Sie sind sehr große Jungs ! 😉 😉 Glückliche Advent Wolfgang! <3
What stunning creatures! I feel so bad for the poor seal who lost the battle. His eyes seem full of sadness.
Yes, and of course I worried about him and googled to try and find out if he would be okay. In addition to the injuries you see here, he had a big chunk bit out near his tail. He looked in pain and shifted around a lot like one does when one is in pain. Poor, poor guy. These holes are just gaping and I hope he makes it. I have no idea how they heal or if they get infected. They were mostly in blubber except for the torn mouth. He needed stiches and antibiotics. There is a group called Friends of The Elephant Seals that looks after the seals, but they will not interfere in natural injuries, only human made ones. Although it is hard to figure what a ‘natural’ injury really is anymore in our compromised and degraded natural world and this species was almost annihilated.
Liebe Cindy das sind wunderschöne Fotos ganz toll an zu sehen einen schönen Mittwoch wünsche ich dir mit ganz lieben Grüßen Klaus
Vielen, vielen Dank Klaus und ich freue mich Ihnen die Fotos gefallen!
Amazing photos!!! Thank you for sharing
Thank you more for appreciating! <3
okay, I am going to be honest here….they are U G L Y!!! Happy Holidays my dear.
Laughing….beauty is in the eye of the beholder!! 😉 Merry Christmas to you and your family Antionette! <3
You too my dear!
Amazing portraits with wondrous details dear Cindy ! Perfect timing,looks as if they are posing for you !!! Although they are h u g e … I suppose they are innocent and harmless. Great experience to see them close up !!!
Huge, innocent and charming! What a perfect set of descriptors! Cheers to you and hugz too~
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Du bist sehr nett! Vielen Dank~
I loved your narrative on this. Ooh, that poor guy in the last photo.