Drakes Seaside within the Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore is quickly closed to accommodate elephant seals which have arrange camp for the breeding season.
The annual ritual has introduced at the very least 30 males to the shore in entrance of the Kenneth C. Patrick Customer Heart as of Thursday, with extra farther down the seashore, mentioned Earl Perez-Foust, a member of the park’s workers.
At the very least 4 pups have been born close to the overlook space of the seashore, Perez-Foust mentioned. The primary was noticed on Dec. 20.
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“Closures are a critical way to protect both elephant seals and the visiting public,” Perez-Foust mentioned. “The unpredictable nature of elephant seal behavior, coupled with potential impacts to their health and well-being, means that sometimes the best way to protect wildlife and visitors is to prevent the potential interaction between the two.”
Annually, a whole bunch of elephant seals fan out throughout Marin’s seashores for the winter pupping season. However till just lately, the blubbery beasts most well-liked the secluded south-facing pocket seashores of the Level Reyes Headlands. That modified within the 2018-2019 season, once they started increasing their declare on not-so distant locales, similar to Drakes Seaside.
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Guests observe an elephant seal at Drakes Seaside within the Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. Annually from December by March, the Nationwide Park Service closes areas within the park the place pupping elephant seals congregate. (Alan Dep/Marin Impartial Journal)
Increase
Males usually arrive first within the late fall and early winter to declare territory from which they’ll defend the pregnant females and their pups.
