LoveFest | Elephant Seals | San Simeon, CA

Thanks for being here!! It’s always amazing to see the elephant seals in their habitat! This was filmed at Pt. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California. A little about their journey~ From December through March, female elephant seals arrive on the beach to give birth. Births will typically occur a few days after arrival. During the last week of nursing her pup (about 24 days), a female will mate with the alpha bull. Once she has mated, the female will typically go to sea and leave her pup behind. Pups are left alone to learn to swim and find food. Most pups are ready to depart for the sea in March and April. Elephant seals form harems, in which the dominant, or alpha, male is surrounded by a group of females. On the periphery of the harem, the beta bulls wait in hopes of an opportunity to mate. They assist the alpha bull in keeping away the less dominant males. Fights between males can be bloody affairs in which the combatants rear up and slam their bodies against each oth