Sorry I tricked you. When we were in San Luis Obispo my cousins took us to Piedras Blancas where there is an elephant seal rookery.
These tan and brown, females and juveniles come here for their catastrophic moult. They lose an entire layer of skin and hair as they rest on the beach for 4 to 6 weeks. (What a life!) The males return from feeding in Alaska in November.
Only the males have the long nose like an elephant.
The seals that are near the end of their moult have silvery new coats. They move by using their flippers to push up and forward and flopping on their belly. It looks awkward and hard work.
They flip sand over themselves to keep cool.
They are plump and bulked up for their moulting fast.
The sub adult males come in June ( these guys must be early) and they are more fun to watch as they like to spar and play, challenging each other with their changing voices, banging their chests together and nipping each other's neck in mock fights.
It was very windy and cold on the beach and difficult to get good photos.
