Record High Number of Female Elephant Seals Came Ashore for 2021-2022 Breeding Season in Point Reyes

A crowded beach at the Point Reyes Headlands colony around the peak of the 2021-2022 breeding season. NPS / Marjorie Cox, NMFS Permit No. 21425

March 1, 2022 - On January 24th, the elephant seal monitoring team counted a record high peak of 1,371 breeding female elephant seals on Point Reyes National Seashore beaches. Now, as they wean their pups and head back out to sea for their first meal in over a month, fewer than 200 nursing females remain. Instead, more than 1,000 weaned pups may be seen huddling in pods on the beaches or teaching themselves to swim just offshore.

Overall, this breeding season has been an uneventful one. Still, biologists did note a few unique events and familiar seal faces. For example, tidal surges from the January 15th tsunami corresponded with the morning high tide and repeatedly inundated beaches full of breeding seals. While there is evidence of some pup loss after this event, biologists did not see a dramatic drop in pup numbers. Elephant seal pups are not able to swim, and if they get swept out, they may drown or be permanently separated from their mother.

Elephant seals are known for their VERY deep-water foraging behavior, and when they come ashore, they are typically fasting. So biologists were very surprised to see a juvenile seal exiting the water with a spotted ratfish in its mouth in early February. NPS / Marjorie Cox, NMFS Permit No. 21425

In a different kind of exciting moment, biologists were very surprised to see a juvenile seal exiting the water with a spotted ratfish in its mouth in early February. This was so startling to see because elephant seals are known for their VERY deep-water foraging behavior and when they come ashore, they are typically fasting. After consulting with other researchers in California this seems to be an extremely rare observation indeed. Juvenile seal foraging behavior is not as deeply researched as adult foraging. It is possible this observation was an anomaly, or perhaps young seals may forage closer to shore. With new technologies, other researchers are exploring this possibility and it will be exciting to see what their results show.

Biologists also spotted a couple of seal-ebrities on park beaches this season. One, an 11-year-old alpha bull was tagged as a pup on Drakes Beach in 2011. He could be seen this season sustaining his alpha status on Drakes Beach below the Elephant Seal Overlook for a third season in a row! This is quite an achievement, as only about 5% of males born survive to adulthood and about 1% of males born successfully mate. Park researchers were also thrilled to see a pregnant, 17-year-old female seal affectionately called “Shark Lady”. She has a massive, healed shark wound in her mid-section and has been spotted breeding in Point Reyes since 2013! It is incredible that she has been so successful after surviving such a catastrophic injury.

With the breeding season winding down, biologists are currently busy tagging weaned pups so they can be re-sighted at Point Reyes or at other elephant seal colonies for years to come. Check out the Weekly Elephant Seal Monitoring Update to learn more and keep up with the latest breeding season news.

For more information

• San Francisco Bay Area Network Pinniped Monitoring webpage
• Point Reyes’ Viewing Elephant Seals webpage
• Pacific Coast Science & Learning Center Elephant Seals webpage
• Contact Marine Ecologist Sarah Codde

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