Road trip to college: Elephant Seals

Male elephant seals snuggle up for a nap at the Piedras Blancas rookery.

We watched this guy make some load honking noises, then plop down for a nap.

We didn't have time to visit Hearst Castle, but we found another equally fascinating attraction just four miles north of Hearst Castle on California Highway 1.  Since 1990, elephant seals have been using the Piedras Blancas beach to nap, mate, pup and molt.  In 2014, 5,300 pups were born on this stretch of beach.  That's a lot of pups.  And these guys get big.  The females can weigh up to 1800 lbs. and measure 12 feet long, while the males can grow to 16 feet and reach 5,000 lbs.  That's what some cars weigh. A good dozen of these enormous males, with their distinct bulbous noses, were cuddled up next to each other taking a snooze.  A short distance away a few males were bobbing and honking in the water.

Lest you think that the life of a elephant seal is all a day at the beach, it is not.  These seals spend 8-10 months at sea, traveling as far as the Aleutian islands, and making dives as deep as 5,000 feet as they forage for food.  Orcas will take one in three males before the year is out.  After all that, you can't blame them for laying around on the sand a few months of the year.