2020 Elephant Seal Breeding Season Yields Record Number of Weaned Pups at Point Reyes

This winter, biologists applied pink flipper tags to a record of 536 weaned elephant seal pups. The tags will help them keep track of and learn from individual seals over time. Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands use pink tags, Ano Nuevo green, and San Simeon white.

NPS /  Marjorie Cox, NMFS Permit No. 21425

March 2020 - The 2020 elephant seal breeding season at Point Reyes National Seashore was another successful one! By the end of the season, biologists had counted approximately 1,070 weaned pups on park beaches, the highest count on record. A very mild winter contributed to low pup mortality this year. Biologists were also able to tag the hind flippers of more weaned pups (536) this year than ever before. This was made possible in part because more pups are being born on Drakes Beach, which is much easier for biologists to access than some of the other ocean-facing colonies backed by steep cliffs.

Adult female seals stagger their time onshore during the breeding season, so it is difficult to get a complete count of total females. However, it is estimated that approximately 1,300 adult females came ashore at Point Reyes this season. This is similar to estimates from the last few years. Deterrence methods to move pregnant females from the beach in front of Ken Patrick Visitor Center appeared successful, with the majority of hazed females re-sighted with pups farther south on Drakes Beach.

For more information

• Check out the 2019-2020 Elephant Seal Monitoring Season Summary
• Contact Sarah Codde

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