5506 Contemplating the Journey - Juvenile Elephant Seal

Elephant Seals typically spend 80% of their lives at sea, mostly solo, returning to land - known as hauling-out - only to mate and give birth. Juveniles return on a different cycle, to develop their land muscles and to practice their sparing skills. This image of a male juvenile was taken at sunset during one of those haul-out periods. The image evokes a feeling of an innocent seal contemplating what his grand journey around the Pacific Ocean is likely to hold. This photo was taken from a public overlook of a State-protected Elephant Seal rookery. Original photography by Evan Peers.