Elephants of the Sea

From last week's find of petroglyphs near the Piedra Blanca rock formations in Los Padres National Forest (See Pictographs Found), we head to the rocky Pacific Ocean shore of Piedras Blancas Rookery.  

Friends of the Elephant Seal explains the area best: the "Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris, is an extraordinary marine mammal. It spends eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1000 to 5000 feet deep for periods of fifteen minutes to two hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to its land based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. The Piedras Blancas rookery, on Highway 1 seven miles north of San Simeon on the California Central Coast, is home to about 17,000 animals."  This number is difficult to fathom.  Yet in visiting the breeding ground, we were able to take in the sea of seals, masses of birds, and even an otter!

XplorMor Big Sur - Elephant Seal Rookery Expedition

Unfortunately due to the crowd of onlookers pushing to get a shot with their cameras, smartphones, camcorders, it was difficult not only to glimpse the main Elephant Seal beach but to even get into the main parking lot!  Fortunately, a few hundred feet up the road there is another smaller parking area.  We easily found a space here, but don't count on it as this lot filled up quickly too.  Get to the Rookery early to beat the crowds.  It is definitely worth a stop as you may even witness a pup being born (peak time: mid to late January).

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XplorMor Big Sur - Elephant Seal Rookery Expedition

Friends of the Elephant Seal is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about elephant seals and other marine life and to teaching stewardship for the ocean off the central coast of California.  If there is something you would like to know about elephant seals, or about other marine mammals that inhabit this area, these are the people to contact!  Membership is also offered to help support this wonderful cause: JOIN.