70-pound baby sea creature first of season on California beach. ‘Welcome to the world’

An elephant seal pup marks the first of the season born at Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, rangers reported.

“Welcome to the world little one!” rangers said in a Dec. 22 Instagram post about the birth, with a photo of the baby.

More pups will be born in January at the beach about a 60-mile drive northwest from San Francisco, rangers said.

“Pups weigh about 70 lbs at birth and nurse from their mom for about a month,” rangers said. They ask visitors to keep the pups safe by staying out of closed areas at the seashore.

Northern elephant seals weigh up to 2.2 tons at full size and reach up to 13 feet in length, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. They eat squid, fish, rays and sharks.

They live up to 19 years in the wild and are found in Alaska and along the West Coast, the NOAA said. Elephant seals migrate up to 13,000 miles round-trip.

Once thought extinct due to hunting, the enormous seals are a protected species.

This story was originally published December 22, 2024 at 2:39 PM with the headline "70-pound baby sea creature first of season on California beach. ‘Welcome to the world’."