2008 February, Natural History Photography Blog

Another photograph of two male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) “bulls” fighting on a central California beach. These two started their battle on the sand and eventually took it into the surf. Note how scarred their chests, necks and proboscis (noses) are, the result of years of fighting and biting and the consequent, almost continuous, series of wounds they bear during the winter mating season.

Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight in the surf for access for mating females that are in estrous. Such fighting among elephant seals can take place on the beach or in the water. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20369   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Male elephant seals haul out of the ocean and establish territories on the beach in December, in advance of females who arrive a few weeks later and among whom they form large harems. Throughout the birthing and mating season, which extends through March, males will fight among themselves to maintain or expand their territory and ward off other males who might mate with the females in their harem. Younger bachelor males without established territories will often try to “pick off” a female and mate with her if possible before the bull overseeing the harem notices. Fights like these are common, especially later in the season when most of the mating is done.

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Here is another photograph of a large male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) forcibly mating with a much smaller female. This bull holds her down with his enormous weight and even bites her into submission. Females elephant seals, when facing such a suitor, generally squak and put up a token display of annoyance, but do not actually attempt to fight off the male. They know that natural history, and the enormous sexual dimorphism of their species, works to the bull elephant seal’s advantage in these encounters.

A bull elephant seal forceably mates (copulates) with a much smaller female, often biting her into submission and using his weight to keep her from fleeing. Males may up to 5000 lbs, triple the size of females. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 15408   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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In this photograph an adult male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) mates with a much smaller female. Note that the female is not given much choice in the matter. This is quite typical in elephant seal society, somewhat akin to human society of a few million years ago. The female’s pup is seen just in front of her, and stands a reasonable chance of being overrun by the event.

A bull elephant seal forceably mates (copulates) with a much smaller female, often biting her into submission and using his weight to keep her from fleeing. Males may up to 5000 lbs, triple the size of females. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20388   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA

Also, see this photo of rough sex among otters.

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Here we see two northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) “bulls” fighting on a central California beach. Male elephant seals haul out of the ocean and establish territories on the beach in December, in advance of females who arrive a few weeks later and among whom they form large harems. Throughout the birthing and mating season, which extends through March, males will fight among themselves to maintain or expand their territory and ward off other males who might mate with the females in their harem. Younger bachelor males without established territories will often try to “pick off” a female and mate with her if possible before the bull overseeing the harem notices. Fights like these are common, especially later in the season when most of the mating is done.

Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20377   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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A photograph of a northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) “bull” bellowing on a central California beach. Other elephant seals can be seen on the sand and in the surf behind him. Bulls (adult males) spend a lot of time bellowing to communicate to surrounding elephant seals, including other bulls, the boundaries of their harem and beach territory and to issue challenges to other bulls that approach. The larger the bull, the deeper and louder the bellowing. As an elephant seal matures its proboscis (nose) grows huge, eventually obstructing the mouth and changing the sound of the bellowing so that it becomes a distinctive deep rumbling and popping sort of sound. Very curious and cool to listen to. Note that this fellow has some considerable scarring on his proboscis and about his chest, wounds acquired in combat with other bulls.

Male elephant seal rears up on its foreflippers and bellows to intimidate other males and to survey its beach territory. Winter, Central California. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 15521   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Another photograph of a northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) “bull” bellowing on a foggy central California beach.

Partially obscured by coastal morning fog, this male elephant seal rears up on its foreflippers and bellows to intimidate other males and to survey its beach territory. Winter, Central California. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20418   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Check it out, these are two bull elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) fighting for territory and mating access to females. The bull on the right has got the upper hand, having a firm grip on the proboscis (nose) of the seal on the left. It might look funny but it is quite brutal. I’d never seen this particular angle before.

Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20375   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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This is a “weaner”, a young northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) that has been weaned (is no longer nursing milk from its mother) and is now on its own. In fact its mother has probably already left the beach and is now at far at sea foraging for food. This young elephant seal will likely never meet its mother again.

Northern elephant seal, pup. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 00948   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Females nurse their pups on fat-rich milk for only 28 days. Shortly before she weans her pup, the female will mate with one or more of the mature bull elephant seals. She will then return to the ocean leaving the pup to fend for itself. At this point the 300 pound pup is called a weaner and its existence is quite precarious. It must learn to swim and forage for itself, living off its fat reserves as it does so. For two months a weaner will remain at the rookery, gradually gaining swimming and foraging skills. If it is successful and survives, it will adopt a diet of squid, fish, rays and small sharks.

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This northern elephant seal pup (Mirounga angustirostris) looks like it has issues to work out with its mother.

Elephant seal mother and pup vocalize to one another constantly, likely to reassure the pup and confirm the maternal identity on a crowded beach. Central California. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 15421   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

In December females return to the colony and form harems around the males. Elephant seals are highly sexually dimorphic, meaning the males and females differ in size considerably. Female elephant seals are much smaller than the males, up to 10 feet in length and weighing one ton. Generally within five days of their arrival at the colony from eight months at sea, the females give birth to a single pup that they have been carrying since the previous breeding season. Births are usually first observed in late December and continue increasingly through February, peaking near mid-February. Often seagulls will be the first to detect a new birth, flocking to the birth to feast on the discarded placenta. Vocal bonding between the pup and mother is critical and takes place immediately as this is the only certain way the mother and pup can identify one another if they are separated, which is a common occurrence on a crowded beach and beside 5000 pound males that do not hesitate to trample and push the pups aside while mating or fighting. Orphaned pups are commonly observed, usually through separation with their mothers or by virtue of a mother than is insufficiently mature to understand how to care for its pup. Some mothers who have lost their pup will attempt to steal another female’s pup. Some mothers will also tolerate an orphaned pup nursing, although this may actually doom both pups as it is thought that a mother only has enough milk supply to properly nourish a single pup each season, since for each pound that a pup gains its mother will have lost two. It is estimated that about 3500 pups were born at the Piedras Blancas rookery in 2005. Pups weigh up to 75 lbs. at birth and may be four feet long. When they are first born they carry a striking dark black, smooth coat which will gradually fade to brown as the pup matures.

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Here we see part of the burgeoning Piedras Blancas colony of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) crowding the beach. In actuality this is about half of the animals that were here at the peak, a few weeks earlier. Many of the females have already weaned there pups (or lost them during the high waves that came in January) and have mated, and are now back at sea.

Elephant seals crowd a sand beach at the Piedras Blancas rookery near San Simeon. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20358   Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Although Northern elephant seals are oceanic animals and as individuals spend the majority of their life at sea, as a population elephant seals utilize the Piedras Blancas colony nearly year round. There are two principal reasons elephant seals come ashore: molting (shedding their fur coat) and birthing/breeding. From April through August the elephant seals return to shore to molt, with females and juveniles molting first followed by subadult males and finally adult males. By August they are gone, back at sea with a new coat of a fur. In fall, immature animals will haul out to rest, younger animals appearing in September and older animals later. However, in general these immature elephant seals, typically weaners, yearlings and subadults, do not stay into the breeding season, generally leaving by late November to make way for the older animals.

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I arrived at the elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) rookery before sunrise and walked out in heavy fog, not able to even see the water. Gradually the fog burned off as the sun appeared and I could start to see some of the seals. Here is a big bull splayed out on the sand, just visible through the clearing mist:

An enormous elephant seal bull male lays on the beach, partially obscured by typical central California coastal fog. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image: 20399   Species: Mirounga angustirostris Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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