Harbor seals, La jolla, California

We see Harbor seals all along the Pacific coast.  But near San Diego they calve only on one beach; the Cove at La Jolla.  The shape of the cove provides considerable protection from White sharks - their only predator other than Orcas.  The beach is closed to humans from May for several months a year.  The mothers only tend to their own single offspring for 10 days and then return to feed in the ocean.  The kid is put into a "school" to be attended to by surrogates.


For whatever reason, seals have little fear of humans. These are the type that are used in circus and aquarium acts.  I was just reading the diary of a British explorer in 1008 who came across a creature he had never seen or heard of before. It was an 8' seal.  He walked right up to it and the seal showed no fear of him.  Unfortunately, he decided to stone it to death. So much for humans, as usual.

It was wonderful to watch the seals and babies so new that they were born just hours earlier.

I watched a real drama as a newborn that had not even been the water yet, was washed into the ocean by a wave.  The mother seemed exhausted - probably from the recent birth- and struggled to herd the calf back to shore. But the situation just worsened.  At one point, the kid discovered self-propulsion and zoomed off toward the danger zone.  As she tried to haul it back, it went under by some rocks where she could no longer help. Worse, it was dragged and slammed against nearby rocks.  Twice, for a a couple of minutes, it appeared she had lost her calf. It took about 20 minutes beginning to end, but she eventually won the day and brought the kid home.

There was one whopping male laughing (?) and maybe yawning about something.

The beauty of the juveniles - shown mostly in the pile-up above - is stunning. From a distance, you cannot tell them from the rocks along the coast they so resemble.  Up close they have many topical injuries, but are so beautiful.  In one photo, you can see one's blue coloration - resulting in the beauty of both the sea and the coastal rocks and sand.