There are a few places along the California coast where elephant seals gather off and on during the year to molt, to choose the dominate males, and to eventually breed. These seals are big…the males reaching up to 20’ long and weighing in at 8,800 lbs. Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult male which resembles an elephant's trunk. I think their rather large size also might have something to do with it.
Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on seals of any kind. But when I visited this beach near San Simeon with my camera, I saw many of them throwing sand on themselves with their flippers. This photo is of one such event. I was lucky to get the sand in full flight…and in case you didn’t notice, the seal’s head is partially obscured by the rock on the left.
Curious about the sand throwing, I did a little research. Based on the time of year that I was there, this seal, and his companions were probably in the midst of loosing their skins. If so, they use the sand to stop the itching that results from molting. They also use wet sand to cool themselves off on hot day…this was not a hot day.
The State of California has set up parks along the coast where the seals hang out. This helps maintain the seal’s security and allows tourists to safely watch the seals in their natural habitat. Colonies of seals are very loyal to a particular spot, so these seals and their predecessors all use this beach.
You can read more about the elephant seals by searching the Internet…or even better, find a seal beach the next time you are on the California coast and observe them in their natural habitat.
(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com
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