The Elephant Seals

Today on our way out of Hearst Castle, one of the people at the information desk gave me a flier about the elephant seals. I became very interested, and I decided that I would go check it out. I drove up along the Scenic Highway 1, and came to a turnout. I parked my car and began to walk up along the sandy tunes to a point where I could see these massive creatures. I recall seeing a video on you tube once of an elephant seal crushing a car, so I knew I had to proceed with caution. As I walked along a path I began to see hundreds of the seals as I turned a cove. They were extremely large, and their roars could be heard before they could be seen. I sat atop a little cliff about ten feet above the beach. One seal came in from sea and began to approach another. Then all of a sudden they shifted their weight backwards and began to fight. They stood up to a certain degree and barked and hit each other. It was clear to me that the one that came in from the water was more dominant because he then went up and approached what seemed to be a mother and its baby. There was no reaction from the mother so it must have been the alpha male. They began to rest as the sun was beginning to fall. I thought that it would be a good idea to observe these creatures from my point, and not enter their habitat like so many other tourists were doing. None were ever in danger, but it did upset and made a few scurry away. It was interesting to see the beaches and think how crowded they once were. I apparently visited during a time of the year that mating was just finishing up, so there were not as many as there usually are. As I watched the people walk away I see the footprints that they leave, and as I watch the seals move, they too leave a track. All of which gets washed away everyday as the tides rise. That realization enabled me to have a greater connection with the animals and the land.