Both Seals and Sea Lions are what a lot of people think of when they think about California pinnipeds. Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon gives people a chance to get a fairly close view of Sea Lions in their natural habitat.
But I think the most amazing display in California is when the Elephant Seals arrive at various beaches to have their pups. They are tired and the beach looks like it’s full of dead bodies. But one or the other of the females will raise her head to look around. And the pups are always looking for another meal from mom.
This girl is pretty beat up.
The enormous males arrive first to fight for the right to associate with the much smaller females. Their fights are impressive. The females arrive and give birth to the pups they have been carrying since the previous year.
Neither this female nor her pup look happy with her suitor. Pups can get killed if the males roll over them.
Newborn pups weigh about 75 pounds and are about 4 feet long. The pups nurse for about a month and gain about 10 pounds a day. The mothers don’t eat at all during this time. (No wonder they look so tired!)
This pup is almost as big as his mother.
Pups are always looking for another meal. If mom won’t put out, they look for a temporary mom not paying much attention.
“What did I do with my pup?”
Elephant Seals use their flippers to spray sand over themselves, protecting them from sunburn.
After a month or so, the mothers abandon their pups and return to the sea to feed. By that time, the pups weigh about 300 pounds and remain on the beach. They must teach themselves how to swim and find food.
Jellyfish
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the best places on the West Coast to examine Pacific Ocean life. In 2013 they had a spectacular exhibit on Jellyfish and we spent a couple of hours photographing them.
In my last post, I talked about the dangers of Pacific waters. My brother-in-law, Vince, who was raised out by the beach in San Francisco, once got stung in the face by a Jellyfish. How, you might ask, did that happen? Well, a close relative was involved. When he was 7 years old, his sister picked up a beached jellyfish and threw it at Vince. It hit him on the face. I quote him here: “All I remember is intense stinging and screaming as my dad tried to figure out what to do. Another man came runnng up saying something about someone getting some fresh water. Next thing I knew they threw a couple buckets of fresh water into my face and rubbed it in with a rag and the stinging was gone.” Beachwalkers beware!
Another Pacific denizen is this delicate and complex Seahorse. All the tiny branches and leaves belong to the Seahorse – used to deceive predators from viewing it as a meal.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium also has an enormous salt-water tank open to the ocean so you’re seeing whatever is in the area.
One more creature found in most tide pools is the Starfish.
Insects and Snakes
When they’re in town, south of Pismo Beach, Monarch Butterflys can congregate by the thousands in the Eucalyptus or Monterey Cypress trees. Their numbers vary widely but they are on the edge of extinction. We tried planting Milkweed (one of their preferred flowers) in our back yard, but never saw a Monarch.
We were on a trail to the ocean in Del Norte Redwoods State Park. We finally reached the small beach. While wandering around the rocks, I found this beautiful dead Dragonfly, lacy wings disintegrating on the rocks.
This long, harmless Garter Snake was slithering along the Taylor Dunes Trail in Oregon.
Larger Animals
There are lots of Roosevelt Elk in Northern California. Many of them reside in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. There is a habitual herd grazing in the meadow next to Elk Prairie Campground. They don’t seem to fear humans unless they get too close.
Over the years, we’ve seen deer everywhere. But these deer impressed me. They were in a steep canyon, carefully navigating across a snowy area. It would soon be fatal for one of them to get a broken leg on the icy slope. We were up at the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington.
And then, sometimes there is a complete surprise. We were on the very remote, 75-mile-long Mattole Road aka the Lost Coast Road, north of Eureka, California. There road goes out to a remote view of the Pacific Ocean. There are various farms along the hilly road and so cattle and horses can be seen.
But then we came to a different field and found another grazer – a striped one. We didn’t expect zebras to be nibbling grass along with the horses.
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