By HAVEN DALEY, Associated Press
PESCADERO — Every winter about 10,000 elephant seals make their way to California’s Año Nuevo State Park to fight, mate and give birth. The spectacle runs from mid-December through March, drawing wildlife watchers eager for a glimpse of the largest seals on the planet.
During what park docent Laura Stern called “pupping season,” bull seals — some reaching up to 16 feet (4.9 meters) in length and weighing up to 2.5 tons — engage in bloody battles for breeding access to the females.
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“So most elephant seals come back to the same beach where they were born. They don’t all, but most of them do,” Stern said. “And we have about 10,000 elephant seals that come to Año Nuevo.”
Elephant seals were hunted nearly to extinction in the 1800s, sought out for their blubber, which was used to make oil. In 1892, fewer than 100 of the animals remained on a small island off the coast of Baja California.
A bull elephant seal rests on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) An elephant seal pup, center, makes its way through female elephant seals on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Laura Stern, right, talks about elephant seals during a tour of Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Elephant seals rest on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) People watch as elephant seals rest on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Show Caption1 of 5A bull elephant seal rests on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) ExpandRelated Articles
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“There is a genetic bottleneck because they’re all coming from that same 30 to 60. But so far they’re doing really well, and we haven’t had any problems,” Stern said.
Año Nuevo State Park, about 90 minutes south of San Francisco, is one of the largest mainland breeding rookeries on the West Coast. During pupping season, visitors come in droves to book docent-led guided walks so they can watch the long-nosed bull seals clash on the shore, hear the barks and bellows filling the seaside air and see the mothers nurse sleek, 75-pound (34-kilogram) pups on the sand dunes.
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“It’s awe-inspiring,” said Carrie Kahn, a visitor to the park from Berkeley, California. “And you just wonder, how do they move from point A to point B? They look like they’d be so slow. But they’re quick and big, and they’re honking and making noises.”
Male elephant seals have the highest level of testosterone of any mammal, Stern said. “So they want to mate, fight, eat, press repeat,” she said.
“You’re not at a museum. You’re not in an aquarium. You are right here watching them live doing what they do,” Stern said.
Between April and November, no tours are needed to visit the seals at Año Nuevo State Park. During pupping season, visitors must reserve a spot on a docent-guided walk to see the seals. Reservations can be made at www.reservecalifornia.com.
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