Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA--Today’s day in the life blog is about weaners! Weaners are what we call pups after they have been weaned.  In just a few short weeks they have gone from around 75 pounds to 300 pounds!

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA--As the females nurse their pups, they slowly become skinner and skinner until they look like a completely different seal! Females loose about 35 percent of their body weight during the breeding season! These are the skinny females! 

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA—Alpha males are the KINGS of the elephant seals!  They have not only survived, but have become the most successful males of their species.  Considering that only 1 in 10 males will ever become alpha, these guys are rockstars!

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA—Undergraduate interns can be some of the most fascinating biological creatures to ever encounter.  While they tend not to be very shy, their lives are so complicated, that it’s hard to keep up with one long enough to really understand what is going on in their mind! Fortunately for us, we were able to corner one long enough to get an up close and personal look into their lives.

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA--It’s official…Spot’s tags have been recovered!! Spot  has been wearing her tags for 8 months, picking up data that researchers are just now able to view!  

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA--This week in our Day in the Life blog…adult females!  Elephant seals in general are pretty incredible! The females are no exception!  E Seal mamas are independent women that really do it all! Females fast for over a month, all while suckling and taking care of a pup.  That's dedication!   It's hard work being a mom, and when weighing in at nearly a 1 ton, they are big mammas!!

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz, Long Marine Lab-- They are MIGHTY, they are GNARLEY, they are PROUD, they ARE….losers.  Male elephant seals can have a tough life! Only 1 out of 10 males get to become alpha, or kings of their own harem of females. The others are left to become beta males (big males that are second to alpha), sneaker males (males who inch their way into harems under alpha's radar) and the losers.

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA --Welcome back to our Day in the Life blog during Elephant Seal Homecoming Days! This week we will be looking at YEARLINGS! These guys are awesome because while they are surviving on their own, they don't seem to actually realize how tough they are!

Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz, Long Marine Lab, CA-- Ever wondered what its like to be an E Seal? What about an E Seal PUP!? E Seals are incredible animals, swimming thousands of miles each year, only coming out of the water twice to breed and molt. These are not your average seals, e seals are tough oceanic predators!