Año Nuevo

What better way to start January with a visit to a park named after the new year? For the last couple of years, I’ve been lucky to see the elephant seals at Point Reyes, but this year, we visited another excellent spot for them: Año Nuevo Coast Natural Preserve. Their presence is reasonably assured because elephant Seals return to the same place they were born every winter to mate and give birth.

We went on a guided walk with a docent who was full of helpful information. The most fascinating thing I learned was that the adults don’t eat or drink the whole time they’re on shore, which can be months. Conserving energy is critical, so fighting each other is a considerable investment. We didn’t see any epic battles between the males, just a few disgruntled snorts, but seals were everywhere, including pups ranging from a few hours old to weaners.