These are Elephant Seals. I was inspired to write about these huge and amazing creatures when I heard that a whale had washed up on the beach here in Huntington. Last December Ryan and drove up the coast to Cambria and Morrow Bay for a little vacation. We visited some neat places like Hearst Castle, and this beach which is a known breading area for the unusual elephant seals. There were SOOO many elephant seals. My parents had been several months before us, and advised us to take binoculars to view all the seals. We weren't sure what to expect, but we sure didn't need binoculars! There were so many of them, and a lot of babies - which were still quite large for a baby. Well, while we were there we witnessed a fight between two of the larger males. The photo above is the beginning of the fight. They both reared the heads back and made these horrible noises that sounded a lot like a huge belch. (Maybe Sydney can swallow some soap again to show us how it sounded...) Anyway, it was pretty amazing to watch and the only sad thing was that a little baby got trampled under the large males as they scurried back and forth at each other.
Amazing animals, huh? Wish I was brave enough to get scuba certified to actually go into the ocean and take a closer look at those amazing ocean animals! Next time you drive up the coast, make sure you stop to take a look at the elephant seals. You won't be dissapointed!
