headline: Elephant seals return to Año Nuevo for winter breeding season, drawing crowds slug: 2026-01-18-elephant-seals-return-to-ano…

  • PESCADERO, Calif. — About 10,000 elephant seals are returning to California’s Año Nuevo State Park this winter for their annual pupping s…
  • The seasonal gathering at one of the West Coast’s largest mainland breeding rookeries reflects a conservation success story: a population…
  • During what Stern called “pupping season,” bull elephant seals — some reaching up to 16 feet 4.9 meters in length and weighing up to 2.5 …
  • “So most elephant seals come back to the same beach where they were born. They don’t all, but most of them do,” Stern said. “And we have …

PESCADERO, Calif. — About 10,000 elephant seals are returning to California’s Año Nuevo State Park this winter for their annual pupping season, when massive bull seals battle for beach territory and mothers nurse newborn 75-pound pups on the sand dunes, drawing wildlife watchers eager for a glimpse of the largest seals on the planet. The spectacle runs from mid-December through March at the park roughly 90 minutes south of San Francisco, according to park docent Laura Stern.

The seasonal gathering at one of the West Coast’s largest mainland breeding rookeries reflects a conservation success story: a population hunted to fewer than 100 animals in the late 1800s has recovered to an estimated 250,000 elephant seals living in the Pacific.

Bulls, battles and pupping season

During what Stern called “pupping season,” bull elephant seals — some reaching up to 16 feet (4.9 meters) in length and weighing up to 2.5 tons — engage in bloody battles for breeding access to the females.

“So most elephant seals come back to the same beach where they were born. They don’t all, but most of them do,” Stern said. “And we have about 10,000 elephant seals that come to Año Nuevo.”

Male elephant seals have the highest level of testosterone of any mammal, Stern said. “So they want to mate, fight, eat, press repeat,” she said.

Visitors watch mothers nurse the 75-pound (34-kilogram) pups on the sand dunes while bulls clash on the shoreline, filling the seaside air with barks and bellows.

“It’s awe-inspiring,” said Carrie Kahn, a visitor from Berkeley, California. “And you just wonder, how do they move from point A to point B? They look like they’d be so slow. But they’re quick and big, and they’re honking and making noises.”

A species pulled back from the edge

Elephant seals were hunted nearly to extinction in the 1800s, sought out for their blubber, which was used to make oil. By 1892, fewer than 100 of the animals remained on a small island off the coast of Baja California.

The Mexican government extended legal protection to the species in 1922, followed shortly by protection in the United States. Today the population has grown to an estimated 250,000 seals living in the Pacific.

“There is a genetic bottleneck because they’re all coming from that same 30 to 60. But so far they’re doing really well, and we haven’t had any problems,” Stern said.

Visiting Año Nuevo

During pupping season, visitors must reserve a spot on a docent-guided walk to see the seals. Reservations can be made at reservecalifornia.com. Between April and November, no tours are needed.

“You’re not at a museum. You’re not in an aquarium. You are right here watching them live doing what they do,” Stern said.