Article

Weekly Elephant Seal Monitoring Update: February 14, 2025

Point Reyes National Seashore

News This Week

  • Total seal counts are dropping as females wean their pups and head out to sea. The total count is similar to the 5-year average.
  • Mating is ramping up, with lots of male activity on the beaches. Ken Patrick Visitor Center had 3 bulls and 4 subadults as of 2/12.
  • The last births of the season will be happening in the next few days.
  • Weaned pup counts continue to increase. A total of 497 weaned pups were counted on 2/12.
Two elephant seal weanlings, one with a molted coat and one in the process of molting.
A molted weaned pup shows off its new sleek silver-grey coat (left). A weaned pup in the process of molting its black coat is beside it (right).

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Dozens of seals, including a large male and lots of females and pups, resting on a rocky beach beneath a steep bluff.
The harem at the Elephant Seal Overlook. There were 94 total seals as of 2/12.

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Group of 8 plump young elephant seals on a pile of smooth rocks where a stream flows across the Beach.
Lots of weaned pups lounging on a rocky drainage on Drakes Beach. Weanling pods are growing larger as more pups wean off their mom.

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Very large pup nursing from a larger but less plump female seal.
A pup nurses from a cow. There are still lots of nursing pups! As of 2/12, there were 604 pups at Point Reyes.

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Trying their luck

Only five percent of male seals survive to sexual maturity with less than one percent ever gaining reproductive access to females. Typically, only the largest and most dominant alpha males mate successfully. This doesn’t mean that the younger males won’t attempt mating. Subordinate males employ different strategies to try their luck with mating:

  1. Sneaker male strategy – a strategy where young males will lurk on the edge of the harem and sneak their way into the harem while the alpha male isn’t paying attention. Unfortunately, this is not usually successful, as females will protest with vocalizations, which alerts the alpha. Often, a raised head from the alpha is enough to scare away the smaller male.
  2. Skulker male strategy – a strategy where a young male skulks around to different harems at night and attempts to mate. They also can wait in the water to mate with the female as she leaves.
A lhalf-dozen male elephant seals, some larger than others, resting on the same stretch of beach beneath towering bluffs.
Male elephant seals of different age classes on Drakes Beach.

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Excuse the snot!

When looking closely at elephant seals, one may notice white snot leaking from its nostrils! This white substance is pulmonary surfactant–essential for breathing in all mammals, including humans. The main function of this surfactant is to decrease the surface tension of lung fluid, thus allowing for gas exchange between the lungs and blood. In elephant seals, this surfactant also acts as an anti-adhesive. Elephant seals experience extreme pressure differentials when diving to depths of up to 3000 feet. This means their lungs are collapsing on the dive down and re-inflating on their return to the surface. Pulmonary surfactant prevents lung tissues from sticking to each other during these dives. So, a seal with lots of surfactant is a healthy seal!

Plump young elephant seal with big dark eyes lounging on multiple pieces of driftwood. It has a pink tag on its tail and a white substance dripping from its nostrils.
A weanling with what appears to be a runny nose. This is actually pulmonary surfactant.

NPS / PRNSA / Aiko Goldston - NMFS Permit No. 27424

Preliminary Data

Total Elephant Seal Counts, Winter 2024-2025

Graph of the total # of elephant seals surveyed at 3 sites in Point Reyes by survey date. Bars for current season surveys start below the curve, rise above it for a few weeks, and peak a bit below average on Jan 27.
Total elephant seal counts this season compared to average totals from 2020-2024 at the three Point Reyes National Seashore breeding colonies. This year's total count is below the five-year average. The Drakes Beach colony has numbers similar to the five-year average and the Point Reyes Headlands are below average.

Female Elephant Seal Counts, Winter 2024-2025

Graph of female elephant seal counts at 3 colonies in Point Reyes by survey date. Bars for this season appear over an area graph of the average of the past 5 seasons. The bars are shy of the curve, exceed it for a few weeks, then peak below average.
Female elephant seal counts this season compared to average female counts from 2020-2024 at the three Point Reyes National Seashore breeding colonies. The total number of cows on Point Reyes beaches is above the five-year average. The Drakes Beach colony has numbers above average, and the Point Reyes Headlands are below average.

Elephant Seal Pup Counts, Winter 2024-2025

Graph of elephant seal pups counted at 3 colonies in Point Reyes by survey date. Bars for this season are overlayed on an area graph of the 5-year average of pups counted. The bars somewhat exceed the average throughout the season so far..
Number of elephant seal nursing pups counted at the three breeding colonies in Point Reyes National Seashore compared to the average number of pups surveyed at those colonies between 2020-2024. This year's pup counts are similar to the five-year average.

Elephant Seal Weaned Pup Counts, Winter 2024-2025

Graph of weaned pups counted at 3 colonies in Point Reyes in 2023-2024 by survey date. Bars for the present season are overlayed on an area graph of the 5-year average of weaned pups counted. So far, the bars/counts line up closely to the 5-year average.
Number of elephant seal weaned pups counted at the three breeding colonies in Point Reyes this winter compared to the average number of weaned pups surveyed at those colonies between 2020-2024. This year's weaned pup counts are similar to the five-year average.

Weekly Updates Recap


Elephant Seal Seasonal Monitoring Updates Home >>

Elephant Seal Colonies and Beach Closures Map >>

The National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. The related graphics are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not appropriate to use the related graphics as data. The National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an NPS server and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on computer systems at the National Park Service, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on other systems for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. The National Park Service requests that the data user refrain from publishing these data and related graphics and wait until data is available in official, published reports.

Back to top

Last updated: February 20, 2025