These young Elephant Seals were sparring on the beach at Año Nuevo State Park. In the summer the seals haul out on the beach to molt. The males have a large proboscis ("nose") that they make a loud, snuffling sound through. The volunteer who was stationed at the beach overlook told us that the largest males had not yet arrived, these guys are just juveniles. The full-grown males can be 14 feet long and weigh close to 6000 pounds. The seal in the foreground on the left is molting its fur. I was not as close as it looks, I had a 500mm telephoto lens on my camera. It is against the law to approach the seals. These large animals could be dangerous if harassed.
It was funny to see the Elephant Seals throwing sand over themselves at Año Nuevo, they do this to cool off. The seals will molt all of their old layer of fur during this time.
These juvenile Elephant Seals are sizing each other up.
