We had a pleasant surprise the other morning when we arrived at Trinidad Bay for our daily reconnoiter….there was a young seal waaaay up on the beach!

A sign on the beach by the local marine mammal center said it was a young Northern Elephant Seal who was probably in the middle of his seasonal migration from Alaska to Mexico, and who probably was resting, but possibly was doing a “catastrophic molt” (sheds his fur and a layer of skin, in order to grow).

Must’ve been resting, because he was gone the next day.

Later that day, we drove up the coast to where we often see elk. Another pleasant surprise…not only was the herd close to the road, in a nearby field there was a group of 10 bulls.

We’ve not seen this group of bachelors before…what a bunch of impressive antlers!