First, I had no idea there were Elephant Seals anywhere close to California. For some reason I have always thought of them as mammals that would only live in the Antartic, Alaska or somewhere super cold like that. So when I found out from a work friend that we could see these giant beasts up close I was really excited to make it part of our Pismo Beach trip.
For those of you not familiar with the area, Pismo Beach is about 15 minutes south of San Luis Obispo, and San Simeon is near Hearst Castle and about a 45 minute drive north along the coast of California. Due to all the rain we've been having, the hills are lush and green which truly made for a gorgeous site! Unfortunately I was driving so I wasn't able to take pictures of the beauty.
The different sizes of Elephant Seals. The largest is a full grown male, middle is a full grown female, and smallest is a juvenile/sub-adult.
We happened to be there are one of the best times!We were able to see them in all stages, feeding and even some mating!
There were SO many, almost every inch of sand was taken!
A lot of them had what seemed like a cold. They kept sneezing which would make their entire body jiggle.
The full grown males are HUGE! About 7-8 feet! The smaller one's surrounding this one were sub-adults.
This guy was really talkative! Did you know their noises sound like a human burping/farting? Izabella found this hilariou...OK, OK so did I haha.
They get itches on their flippers
And flip sand on their backs. We aren't sure why, maybe to help keep them warm?
Nursing
A little tiff
This guy was chasing after one of the females and started mating with her. It sure was a site! With all the "yelling" and biting it was interesting trying to explain to a 3 year old what was happening. Oh the questions she asked!
Kisses for the mama :)
And a BIGGGGG stretch
We had a great time checking out the Elephant Seals. If you ever find yourself in the area I definitely recommend making the trip to check them out!
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