Elephant seals are a funny bunch of animals when they are hauled out on a beach. This only happens twice in a year - once for the mating time, when they arrive at their breeding grounds and spend the entire few months fighting and attempting to mate with females. Countless documentaries cover this time of year, when the large "Beachmasters" do battle with one another in order to potentially mate with their Harem (group of females in their territory). The other time they are hauled out is when they molt and regenerate their skin and fur, which can take up to about 3-4 weeks. During which time they typically stay ashore waiting until their new fur is fully grown. I was fortunate enough to witness this behaviour a few months ago on December 28, 2017.
However, even though it isn't mating time and their aggression should be low - Boys will be Boys... The males just keep squabbling and fighting with one another constantly. Im not sure if you have seen any nature documentaries of how these animals fight but they sure make it look impressive. Lift their heads and then slam their open mouths with sharp teeth into the necks of their rival. Constantly, slamming their chests into one another with incredible force (remember these animals can get up to over 3 tons in weight) in order to win the battle.
However, the younger guys don't quite have the stamina to the more experienced males (double entendre). They will stand up and square off with one another and then body slam into one another about 3 times, then stop lie on top of each other and have a few minute nap. After the quick/power nap they will return to squaring off and chest bumping into one another again before indulging in another short nap...
You notice very quickly that not only is their stamina kind of a joke but around their necks they is a lot of scaring, regardless of how large/how old these males are. This naturally aggressive behaviour is ingrained into them, as they do have quite a difficult life. Mum only looks after them for 23/24 days, she then leaves and the little ones have to work out where to go, what is food and who is a predator all by themselves with no parental care. Talk about a tough start to life...
A brutal and difficult life for these monsters of the deep ocean - However, to watch them squabble, nap and chest bump one another is incredibly entertaining that you can't look away. I love natural world!!!
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