Piedras Blancas in California has a thriving rookery of Northern Elephant Seals, a sub-species of the largest seals in the world reaching up to 5000 pounds and 16 feet in length. Pups are born here mostly in the month of January.
Births peak mid January.
Over 5000 births occur annually here. Some nice mamas like this one, feed pups other than their own!
Elephant seals nurse for about a month, during this time, mothers stay with pups continuously and do not return to to the sea to feed until weaning is complete.
Elephant Seal milk is the richest milk in the mammalian world, which it needs to be since elephant seals grow so rapidly. This cheeky seagull pecked this little pup causing him to unlatch during nursing, releasing milk, which the seagull tried to drink!
Mama obviously did not approve!
There are still newborns in the rookery now, identifiable by their neonatal folds.
Maternal infant bonds are evident and strong! Mamas can be seen frequently kissing pups.
Northern Elephant Seal populations were hunted to the brink of extinction and by the late 1800’s there were under 100 of them left worldwide. The species has made a remarkable come-back due to conservation efforts and marine mammal protections.
Cheers to you from the friendly ellie-pups at Piedras Blancas Rookery~
To see how big these little guys will grow check out my post from a year ago about the bulls:
https://cindyknoke.com/tag/northern-bull-elephant-seal-mating-behavior/
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They’re gorgeous Cindy.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
They are pretty darn adorable! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Amazing! Simply amazing! You’re mojo is on point ALL the time!!! 🙂 <3
The males are up to 5000 pounds and 16 feet in length. They are spread all over the beaches and sometimes you can walk by one without seeing him which is quiet a surprise! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Oh my goodness! Those are huge creatures then‼️❌⭕️
<3
These photos are fantastic! 😀
Thanks so much! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
The sweetest creatures and thanks for yet another grand wildlife tour. 😊
I love the mother nursing four. I also saw a mom bite a pup who was lost and crying, seems to personality variance similar to people~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
I never tire of seeing the way the mamas of any mammal care for and feed their young. Such a touching scene to see their gentle nature demonstrated in so many ways.
Yes, it is impossible not to relate to their evident maternal care! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
somehow I would have liked to have heard them “sing” “talk” I love your sharing..=^_^=
The babies make this very attention ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅgetting cry and the males boom like basso-profundos. The rookery is not a quiet place!
Aw, playful cuties 🙂
It is amazing to think of these little male pups growing to the 5000 pound behemoths with their harems!
Marvelous photos. I’d seen seal colonies along the coast of CA, but never the pups. The mamas with the big soulful eyes and tender looks are so touching. Thanks so much for such a delightful treat.
And these are seals with tonage, the largest in the world, growing up to 16 ft and 5000 pounds! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
SO cute! Amazing that the males will grow to be an intimidating 5,000 pounds, wow! Thanks for the close-ups of the little ones as well as the interesting facts. 🙂
The rookery is close to you Lynn about a two hour drive with no traffic. The pups are all over now and it is an amazing sight. The mating will be starting anyday. You might want to head over~
Oh what a great idea Cindy! Hmm, that would make an amazing day trip with my nephews too. The oldest one has developed a great fascination with marine life too. Thanks for the idea! 🙂
Do it! The only deal is the mating is quite violent and will be happening soon now. I have never seen it live, only on video, and don’t want to see it, so depending on your nephew’s ages it might not be appropriate.There is no mating now. But there will be shortly. After mating, only the pups are left on the beach, and they stay for a month by themselves, until they get really hungry, and finally risk the trip to the sea. This month long period when the pups are alone on the beach, would be an incredible time to bring your nephews! It is coming up relatively soon. Check with the Piedras Blancas website. I think they would remember this all their lives.
Thanks for the tips! I’ll keep timing in mind (as yeah, my nephews aren’t quite ready to see any blood). I’ve been trying to find ways to entertain them and just re-watched some of my childhood favorites (Secret of Nihm and Dark Crystal), saw a couple of instances with stabbings and went, “Uhhh… Nope!” However, the adult male elephant seals take it to a whole ‘nother level!
Oh The Secret OF NIMH, first the book, and then the movie, such brilliance. Plus I worked for NIMH for almost ten years! Laughing…..My kids read and saw both. You do see why we relate!
They’re beautiful! You’re photos are stunning and that seagull is a brave one lol!! Does the mama have just one pup or are there multi-births also?
The short answer is twin birth is very rare, accounting for less then 1% of all elephant seal birth in one observational study. The female fasts during the month she nurses her pups and if she shares milk, pup weight will be negatively affected. Apparently elephant seals will sometimes adopt other cubs though so this would seem to produce a similar weight related effect. So it is a complicated question with complicated answers, so let’s just settle on not usually! 😉
Fascinating. I would imagine one pup is enough to handle lol
Definitely!
Oh Cindy, they are lovely and very adorable 😀
They really are and they grow big BIG, very fast!
I love hearing about the success stories, Cindy. Thanks for sharing all the baby pictures 🙂
I am so sorry I missed this comment. It was in my wordpress spam filter. Thank you for appreciating these wonderful creatures my friend & cheers to you!
I seem to be getting spammed quite a bit lately. I don’t worry too much about it. (Reminds me, I should check my spam folder!) 🙂
Exactly!
Wow! WOW! That seals it!
Laughing! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
A wonderful, cheering sight.
Ah, so glad! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
cindy- I have never seen anything like this – such a mystique and loving share with the seal family growing –
Ye, the maternal love is palpable! So happy you enjoyed them~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
🙂
Love them and the post!
Merci beaucoup mon ami~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
🙂
“SEALS” of approval! Too cute… Beautiful photos and thanks for sharing.
Peta
The ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ’s and I thank you! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Great pictures and descriptions, Cindy. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thank you and happy you enjoyed! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Wonderful photos and text. Like the seagull story
The seagulls wonder around administering pecks and caging milk!
Reblogged this on firefly465.
I am so grateful for your support of these magnificent creatures! Thank you & cheers too~
Your shots of the elephant seals are awesome. Thanks for sharing, Sue.
Thanks so much and very happy you enjoyed the ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅs!
Cute aren’t they. I remember seeing so many on my train trip from Picton to Kaikora in NZ. They just lazed about on the rocks. In Loncolnshire, we saw a single seal in the River Witham on one occasion, and Hubby saw an otter here last year. Wildlife never ceases to amaze me. Beautiful shots.
What wonderful sightings! It is always thrilling to see wild animals isn’t it. We spent yesterday with sea otters and are returning to them in the morning. Most are carrying babies~
oh what a lucky person you are…………..
Yes, to see wild animals up close is amazing. Thank you~
grossartige Aufnahmen Cindy.
Hab einen schönen Sonntag…
Vielen dank mein lieber Freund und Frohe Sonntag!
Really special photos. Love the fact that the mothers are generous with their milk, as long as it’s not a pesky seagull!
They have personalities. I saw one mother bite a pup who was lost and crying and others feeding the whole neighborhood! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
These are awesome Cindy. 🙂
Thank you. They are!
So wonderful!
So glad! Thank you~
Reblogged this on Art, animals, and the earth.
Thank you for your support of these magnificent creatures! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Great captures and amazing story of nursing young/baby elephant seals. The mothers are kind enough to nurse other babies other than their own. I quite sure that help their society bonded together from day one. That was a great observation of mother seal kisses her babies often. That is lovely!
Yes the maternal/infant is strong and evident and very moving. Thank you for responding to these my friend and be well~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
What a treat to be able to see these babies – thank you! How close are you when you take your pictures?
WE say them from about 20 feet at the closest, 15 feet when on an elevated bluff, which would be difficult for them to climb.
Wow, I had no idea that you could get that close. What a fabulous experience for you. Thanks again for sharing!
It is important to not try and get close as they can be very dangerous and are huge creatures!
Beautiful photos – so precious.
If you see these animals as precious. you are a friend of mine! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
🙂
Reblogged this on AWARENESSHELPS.COM 👁 YOUR LINK TO HELP CHANGE THE WⓋRLD.
So grateful for you support of these amazing animals! Thank you~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
What fantastic photos… so cute the pups… see you haven’t lost your brilliance when it comes to the camera
Your thoughtful words mean very much to me. Thank you my friend and so wonderful to hear from you! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
So cute! and what a joy to be so close to them!!! <3
Soon the adults will leave and the pups will remain alone on the beach for a few weeks. It would be amazing to see this, so maybe I will return next year!
That would be great; you are so lucky! Here in Greece we don’t really have organized wildlife reserves, were we could actually observe the animals in their natural habitat … <3
Informative as well as beautiful images
I am honored. Thank you!
What a delight those young pups are! I loved the mama’s kisses. Thank you for sharing the wonder.
Thank you more for feeling it and for appreciating these gorgeous creatures~
What wonderful photos, Cindy! We were treated to seal pups when we were in the Galapagos. Totally unafraid and wanting to play when we were in the water. Would come up to us and nudge us or nip our toes if we were just sitting by the water. Could not touch! Hardest thing I ever didn’t do!
Oh what a wonderful experience! They will be alone on the beach soon for several weeks and I wonder what it would be like to be with them at this time. Amazing, I’d bet~ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Wow, I bet that milk makes some great cheese! Oscar
Well Oscar, if you can convince 2000 pound mama and 5000 pound guarding papa to let you have some milk, I would love to try your cheese!!!! 😉 😉 ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Once a very back-hallow neighbor asked why we milked goats. I wryly quipped, “Have you ever tried milking a deer”. She knew what I meant. TSA does not like when we bring home-made goat cheese on flights to CA. But, it is solid & has passed their various wipe-down tests. Hmmph. 😉
Yeah, and of course this would be the best goat cheese ever! I want to eat some right now, since you got me thinking about it! You rock Oscar!
Thank goodness for conservationists and people, like you, who care! <3 What a treasured glimpse into the lives of these animals…thank you for sharing with us! I'll never get to see this scene in person so I'm all the more grateful for your post.
Ahh, your words touched my heart. Thank you so very much for appreciating these creatures! ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Wonderful pictures, Cindy! I’m happy about the fabulous work of that rookery.
Gave a great Sunday,
Pit
Once again, spammed. Grrrrr…….
Thank you for letting me see these beautiful and lovely seals. The photographs are incredible and I wish I could see them in person. How truly wonderful.
We need wonderful news these days my friend. Hugs to you~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Wonderful pictures, Cindy! I’m happy about tghat great work of the rookeryy.
Have a nice Sunday,
Pit
Another missed comment! It was in spam. Darn you WP! I really appreciate your thoughtful comments my friend and cheers to you!
They are too adorable…love these photos! That seagull definitely looks proud of himself, doesn’t he?
😉
Yes seagulls do march around like they own the world, which they very well might!!! 😉
LOL – the gulls crowd out the crows when I throw scraps of food out to them, but I did see one crow grab a seagull by the wing-tip and drag it away so that the other crows could get to the food! It was hilarious to see.
XD
You are perceptive! Seagulls are so incredibly intelligent, the only bird that trumps them in their environment, are raptors, and corvids (ravens and crows). Seriously intelligent birds, all of them. So happy you are watching them. They teach us the most important things. Be well my friend~
What beautiful closeup photos. It is great to see the pups and the motherly love. Thanks for showing them to us, CIndy!
Thank you more for appreciating them my friend~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
Reblogged this on Random Ramblings; Myriad Musings and commented:
These pups are too cute! Thanks for sharing, Cindy!
😀
The ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ seals and I thank you from the bottom of our <3's for your support of wild creatures my friend~
😀
They certainly are cute, Cindy. I’m glad they made such a successful come back.
Leslie
Basically they came back from a population of well under 100 worldwide which is remarkable!
That is really amazing.
Yes.
How adorable can you get?
When they lose their mother they cry is so plaintive. They are adorable~ ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
They are 💕
Cindy, I am continually in awe of your stunning photographs! These are amazing, and so interesting about the elephant seals. You must just stalk the nature areas and have the longest telephoto lens in the world. Didn’t get too many pics yesterday of the snow geese at the Colusa Wildlife Refuge 🙁 Too much water, so too deep for them to feed. They apparently had dinner elsewhere!
Aw, thanks Terri! It is so frustrating when birds don’t co-operate with one’s photo requirements! I feel your pain, regularly! 😉
Aw, they’re so sweet, both mamas and babes! Thank you for getting up close so we who’ve never been to the refuge can see them. Don’t you love their little whiskers?!?
Yes, and now I have spent two days with sea otter pups and I think I’m in love!
Thanks, Cindy! Gorgeous pictures, and some positive wildlife news…
Yes, we need good news now!
These are so very precious, Cindy. And how wonderful that they were able to be preserved. We have lost so much and so many creatures. These seals just have the sweetest faces! 😀 <3
They do have such incredible eyes and the relationships between pup and mom was so moving to see, so strong~