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Bull elephant seal at South Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. NPS Photo; NMFS Permit Number 21425

Elephant seals are not your small, cuddly marine mammals. They are behemoths. Males, known as bulls, can reach 5,000 pounds, while females, known as cows, routinely clock in at around 1,000 pounds or so.
 
If you’re a wildlife watcher, now is the time to check elephant seals off your life list. Between December and March, they come en masse to Point Reyes National Seashore in California to give birth and mate again. But they don’t come ashore to simply laze about and soak up the sun when it’s shining. Males are building their harems much like bull elk do, and that can sometimes lead to fights between these ponderous animals.
 
To learn more about elephant seals, how they spend their days, and where you can see them at Point Reyes, we’re joined today by Sarah Codde, a marine ecologist at the national seashore.

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
0:48 Otter Point - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:12 Friends of Acadia
1:38 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
2:10 Episode 305 - The Elephant Seals of Point Reyes
17:19 Flamingo - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
17:34 Smokies Life
17:57 NPT NewsMatch Drive
19:09 Episode 305 - The Elephant Seals of Point Reyes Continues
43:44 Wonder Lake - Various Artists - The Spirit of Alaska
44:30 Episode Closing
45:03 Orange Tree Productions
45:36 Splitbeard Productions
45:47 National Parks Traveler footer

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 325 | Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

News around public lands these days seems to revolve entirely around the Trump administration. In the case of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, many of the steps the administration is taking with the operational efficiencies of the National Park Service and other land management agencies certainly are keeping PEER busy.
 

May 18th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 324 | North American Bird Declines

True birders are some of the most determined and persistent hobbyists out there. If you want to call bird watching a hobby. For many, it’s more like a passion. Many look forward to “Big Day” competitions, where individuals and teams strive to see how many different bird species they can spot in a 24-hour period.

May 11th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 323 | Walt Dabney and Public Lands

It’s fair to say that the nation’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land-management agencies are at risk under the Trump administration.

There’s no hyperbole in that statement if you pay attention to what the administration already has done in terms of downsizing those agencies’ workforces, and when you listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum say he wants to open more public lands to energy development and mining.

May 4th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 322 | Congressman Jared Huffman

The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term might be the most tumultuous first 100 days of any president. He certainly came in prepared to move his agenda forward, no matter what barriers to it existed.

We don’t usually discuss presidential politics, but President Trump has released a blizzard of executive orders and directives touching all corners of the federal government, including the National Park Service.

April 27th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 321 | National Park Science At Risk

There has been much upheaval in the National Park Service this year, with firings, then rehires, and staff deciding to retire now rather than risk sticking around and being fired. There have been fears that more Park Service personnel are about to be let go through a reduction in force.

While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered the Park Service to ensure that parks are properly to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit,” that message said nothing about protecting park resources.

April 20th, 2025 Read More

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