A northern elephant seal cuddle puddle: a colony of dark brown elephant seals all nap belly-up on a sandy beach, snuggled up against a single gray-colored elephant seal in the middle.

Life’s a beach

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At least that’s true for northern elephant seals along the central coast of California during breeding season.

A female northern elephant seal looks back on a pile of mottled, dark brown seal pups leaning into her, with one particularly wrinkled and vocal pup perched on top.ALT

Between December and March, pregnant moms give birth to and raise adorable little pups, while the bulls are busy battling and honking for territory and harems. All the hus-seal and bus-seal makes for a busy beach… and LOTS of napping!

A colony of over 40 light and dark brown northern elephant seals peacefully sleep like logs on a sandy beach, while small waves gently roll onto the sand in the background.ALT

Don’t get us wrong, crowded beaches are a good thing! Thanks to protections in Mexico and the United States, a species once on the brink of extinction is thriving today. That seartainly gets our seal of approval!

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