What is a seal rookery?
These ocean-going mammals spend eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1,000 to 5,000 feet deep for periods of fifteen minutes to two hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to their land-based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. …
Are there seals in Carpinteria?
The Carpinteria Harbor Seal Preserve is home to almost 100 adult seals who give birth to their cubs on the Carpinteria shoreline; one of the four harbor seal rookeries remaining along the southern California coast.
Why do elephant seals go to San Simeon?
Males Arrive for Mating Rights Starting in November, adult male elephant seals start to arrive on the shore. Adult males will stake claim to female pupping areas on the beach. When another adult male challenges a pupping location, a fight for dominance ensues.
How many elephant seals are in San Simeon?
17,000 elephant seals
San Simeon Elephant Seals After that, the population continued to grow every year. Now about 17,000 elephant seals call this beach their home. While seals can usually be seen at the beach all year long, the best times to visit are during late January, April and October.
When do elephant seals come to the Rookery?
The number of seals at the rookery peaks three times during the year: in late January when most births have occurred, around the first of May at the peak of the juvenile/adult female molt, and in late October during the fall or juvenile haul-out. The annual cycle begins in November with the arrival of mature males at the end of the month.
What kind of seals live in Channel Islands?
Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary provide habitat for significant breeding populations of four species of pinnipeds (California sea lions, northern fur seals, harbor seals and northern elephant seals).
Where did the name of the Rookery come from?
While the term rookery may have come from the nesting habits of rooks, it is not reserved for corvids. The breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds and marine mammals (true seals or sea lions) and even some turtles are also referred to as rookeries.
What kind of animals live in a rookery?
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally birds. A rookery is generally reserved for a colony of gregarious birds. While the term rookery may have come from the nesting habits of rooks, it is not reserved for corvids. The breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds and marine mammals ( true seals or sea lions)…
