Elephant Seals at Ana Neuvo
We took the family out to see elephant seals at Ana Neuvo park this holiday weekend. It's mating and birthing season so there's a lot of action on the beach. We didn't get to see any R-rated action, but we did see some males fighting and a few yearlings suckling.
Fun facts about elephant seals:
- The males weigh 5,000 lbs
- During mating/birthing season, both the males and females fast for about three months
- The females lose about 600 lbs between giving birth to a 100 lbs baby and then producing milk to get the baby up to 250 (or so) lbs.
- The females get pregnant around this time, but the zygote doesn't implant and start developing for several months
- The skull of an elephant seal is very similar to a bear skull
- They hunt for food at 5,000 feet!
- They can hold their breath for over two hours
- Researchers think that they actually sleep on the trip down to their fishing depth. Wild.
