At the beach of the Año Nuevo State Reserve in San Mateo County in California, you have a very good chance of seeing Northern elephant seals. Depending on the time of the year you can see molting adult males, females with pups and weaned pups. During the breeding season, access to the beaches is restricted. This is a short photo impression of what you can see there.

Elephant seals

Young males, exchanging some threats	Males engaged in a fight in the water
Despite their size, elephant seals are quite flexible	A male in a characteristic threatening pose
Pups grow very rapidly. Within a few weeks they look like this. Their mothers then return to the sea and the pups need to fend for themselves

For additional information, see check out the following sites:

• The Año Nuevo State Reserve home page
• The Marine Mammal Center

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