About the SealCam

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Welcome to one of the largest gatherings of northern elephant seals in the world. Every December, thousands of the lumbering seals converge here on the beaches of California's Año Nuevo State Reserve to rest, mate, and give birth.

This undeveloped point, jutting out into the Pacific some 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of San Francisco, is also home to harbor seals, sea lions, the occasional sea otter, and a multitude of birds. But it's the elephant seals that draw crowds of tourists every winter.

The huge, gray pinnipeds (named for the males' trunklike noses) arrive here in December after spending most of the year at sea. They blanket the beaches, basking in the moderate climate of the central California coast. Males set up harems of dozens of females, fighting off challengers with bellowing roars and, occasionally, bloody battles. The females give birth to the pups they conceived last year while at Año Nuevo, and spend a month or so rearing their young.

Seal Cam is a partnership with California State Parks and the San Mateo Natural History Association.