This is a view of the beach just south of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. It was late afternoon of December 26, 2000, when we joined the crowd along the beach to view this amazing collection of Elephant Seals. This colony grew from a few rogue bulls who adopted this stretch of shoreline beginning in 1990, to a full breeding population estimated at 7 to 10 thousand! The address of the site I found this information is 
http://www.elephantseal.org/.
If you look to the right of this group you'll see the small dark form making it's way to the large light brown lump, apparently it's mother. In this picture below you'll see he got to his destination and is enjoying dinner!
By clicking on the "The Schedule" link at the site listed above, I found out that it is during December and January the bulls establish coveted beach turf and attract their harem. The group in the picture above seemed to belong to the large male, who is snoozing slightly above the rest of the group. I began to think we weren't going to see any action in this serene group of sunbathers, when the male suddenly arose to face a challenge from another bull.
| These 3 pictures were taken in sequence top to bottom, about 5 minutes apart. |  |
You can see the challenge initiated by the bull on the right.
Click the button to see a video clip of the beginning of the challenge. |
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In this picture the resident bull has backed the intruder away.
Click the button to see a video clip of the the continuing battle. |
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In this classic confrontation they appear to be at a draw.
Click the button to see a video clip of the ending of the fight. |
| This fight continued out into the ocean. In the end the king retained his harem, and the challenger ambled away. | |
Another stop along the central California coast was Avila Bay, where we watched a few more seagoing mammals. The picture to the left is of Avila Beach in the background, with a barge in the foreground being occupied by a couple of Sea Lions and a few gulls. On the right is a closeup of the big fellow wearing an expression of lordly dominance.
Floating near the barge was this laid back sea otter.
While we were watching the sea critters, the little fellow on the right was watching us.
