Elephant Seal. Piedras Blancas, California. July 21, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Elephant seal on the beach at Piedras Blancas, California.

(For those concerned that I may have been inappropriately close to these wild animals… this location provides a very close overlook and I used a 100-400mm telephoto to get these close views. Don’t worry, I would definitely not get too close to these fellas! If you’ve been around them, you and can probably think of about a half a dozen good reasons to keep your distance!)

keywords: wildlife; mammal; acquatic; elephant seal; marine; sand; beach; california; usa; piedras blancas; highway; one; coast; shoreline; ocean; nature; stock; animal