Web cam

You can now watch the elephant seals on the beach via web cam! It's housed in this structure at the far south end of the boardwalk. Check them out from the comfort of your office.

Check in every day. The population is constantly changing. Juveniles and adult females are arriving for their annual molt. We're coming into the season of the year that has the most seals on the beach. All those juveniles that avoid the beach during breeding season come in for a rest.

The seals stop eating while they are on the beach. Some research suggests that this fast triggers development of the embryo that was fertilized before the females left the beach after giving birth and nursing their pups for a month. The process is called delayed implantation -- the egg is fertilized but doesn't start to develop.

It gives the mother a chance to gain some weight before the embryo starts growing and making its demands on her system.