Elephant Seal Rookery, Piedras Blancas, California

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aringer

aringer

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I was reminded again today why I firmly believe that wildlife photography is 90% luck (being in the right place at the right time), and 10% location and preparedness. We'd been at the rookery for about an hour and a half and all the large males were still napping, so we left. I stopped just down the road to photograph what remained of a whale carcass, and then, decided to make one more pass at the rookery. Again, nothing going on, but I saw a large herd of Tule Elk in the distance across the street so I went to snap a couple of shots. They were too far for a good image, and heat distortion was already an issue, so I only took a couple for the record. As I was leaving and passed the parking lot of the rookery heading home, I spotted two massive adults duking it out. I pulled over on the side of the highway and jumped out with the 500mm I just used for the Elk. It was a 20 minute intense and bloody battle of the giants (They can reach 13 ft long and up to 4400 lbs) . One had a huge tear on his proboscis, the inflatable part of the nose that gives it the "elephant" part of the name. The battle started out on the sand and then moved into the water, where you could see a pool of blood when the waves crashed over them. Eventually, one retreated and they went separate ways. I got lucky. Of course, the other option is to park your butt in one place, hope, and wait as long as it takes
😉
. As a cherry on top, just as I started my way back home, a Northern Harrier flew in front of me, so I flipped a U-ee and chased it for a couple shots. Timing is everything.
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Hooligans Imagery said:
Just the blood in the water. I lived in No Cal for 30 years. Wasn't even aware these were down your way.
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Here is what the docent said:
- Sharks and seal fighting: It is a good question, but as far as we know, the fights don’t lead directly to shark attacks. The fights are usually in shallow water near the beach and the sharks are generally thought to be beyond the kelp (although this is an assumption. The area is particularly sharky in the fall when the white sharks are here specifically to feed on the elephant seals prior to their migration to the White Shark Cafe (between Baja and Hawaii). It is not as sharky now. To my knowledge no one has seen a shark or a shark attack at the rookery itself anytime, although we often see fresh bites and injuries in the fall. It can’t be fun to be an elephant seal!
 
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