Return of the Elephant Seals
“And how far is it to
Point Año Nuevo?”
“Oh, senór, it must be a very long way! I think it is in the neighborhood of the other world.” - A traveler near Pescadero asking directions from an old Indian (Evans, 1874) from The Natural History of Año Nuevo, by Le Boeuf and Kaza, 1995
Directions: Highway 92 to
Grade: Easy.
Distance: Three miles.
Time: 2.5 hours on guided walk.
Special Conditions: To visit Año
Nuevo from Dec. 15 to March 31 (the elephant seal breeding season), you must be
on a guided walk led by a trained volunteer naturalist. Tickets for the walks
may be purchased in advance by calling 1-800-444-4445. The fee is $5 per
person; children under 3 years are free. The entrance fee is $6 per car. Between
April and November, you may walk through the reserve without a ranger escort by
obtaining a hiking permit from the ranger station. Day use fees apply. Pets are
not allowed in the reserve and may nt
be left inside parked cars. No problem with poison oak if you stay on the
trail. For more information, call the park office at (650) 879-0227 for tour
and fee information or access the website at www.anonuevo.org.
This is the
time of year when we are called back to Punta de Ańo
Nuevo—“Point of the New Year.” Ańo Nuevo was
discovered by the Sebastian Vizcaino Expedition on
Now 400 years later, “Point of the New Year” still
beckons us each year from mid-December to late March for a period of birthing,
belching and breeding, as the northern elephant seals take up residence at Ańo Nuevo. This annual event could be your gift to
your children, grandchildren or friends who have never witnessed this natural
phenomenon.
What can you expect to see? Hundreds of northern elephant seals lounging in the warm sand. Many of the females will have small pups dressed in their newborn coats of fir lying next to them. You will see “also-ran” males somewhat distant from the harem, on their own, looking the part of rejected suitors. Some have fought the alpha male, the king of the harem, and have lost. Others are too young to compete. When we were there, two large males engaged in a violent battle in the shallow water to establish dominance. They sparred for a while and then crawled to different areas of the shore. On the far side of the harem, dozens of gulls flocked around a newborn pup, as they fed on the afterbirth. Closer by, a female contracted violently, a probable sign of impending birth.
You can visit the Ańo Nuevo Reserve any time of the year, but in breeding season, the trails are closed and all walks are led by docent, and for good reason. With their massive pendulous snouts and thick, scarred chests, the 2.5-ton bulls (that’s 5,000 pounds) are surprisingly quick and not to be trifled with. The docents bring you to good viewpoints, at a safe distance, protecting the hikers and the elephant seals.
By mid-March, the birthing-breeding
cycle is over, and most of the adults are gone. The pups are on their own,
learning to fend for themselves before taking to the sea for their journey
north to feeding grounds off the coast of northern
From April 1 to Dec. 15, you may walk in on your own from the parking lot via the Ańo Nuevo Trail to the sand dunes and the shoreline. Across the narrow channel is the deserted U.S. Coast Guard station that operated a foghorn and a light tower until 1948, when an automatic buoy replaced the manned station. The deserted buildings are now a playground for sea lions, seals and birds.
During your visit, stop by the old
barn, now the
Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. Email tom@tomdavids.com