EVERY WINTER, about 10,000 elephant seals make their way to Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County to fight, mate and give birth. The spectacle runs from mid-December through March, drawing wildlife watchers eager for a glimpse of the largest seals on the planet.
During what park docent Laura Stern called “pupping season,” bull seals — some reaching up to 16 feet (4.9 meters) in length and weighing up to 2.5 tons — engage in bloody battles for breeding access to the females.
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