seal.watch / california

California · 2005—2026

Northern elephant and harbour seals

Seals around California.

Follow public seal observations from California. Browse published records, explore the places and stories behind them, or share an encounter with the Seal Watch team.

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Total reports
54
Latest observation

Public reports · newest first

Public records archive

12 January

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1 of 54 reports

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Explore by area

All areas

The overview shows the full California outline and enlarged coastal views for matching reports. Numbered markers represent broad named areas, never exact observation locations. Select an area to filter the archive. The Farallon Islands marker is offshore; small islands may be absent from the outline.

3 of 3 reports shown in coastal views · 3 areas

Big Sur and Cambria detail viewSan Diego coast detail view
Outlined areas show the coastal views below.

Big Sur and Cambria

Piedras Blancas coast · 1 report1Hearst San Simeon State Park · 1 report2
Mapped areas North to south
  1. Piedras Blancas coast1 report
  2. Hearst San Simeon State Park1 report

San Diego coast

San Diego · 1 report3
Mapped areas North to south
  1. San Diego1 report

Map: Natural Earth.

Reports over time

All dates

Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.

  1. 12024

Months in 2024

  1. 1Jan
  2. 0Feb
  3. 0Mar
  4. 0Apr
  5. 0May
  6. 0Jun
  7. 0Jul
  8. 0Aug
  9. 0Sep
  10. 0Oct
  11. 0Nov
  12. 0Dec

Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.

  1. Piedras Blancas coast, California Piedras Blancas coast
    Unidentified patientgardener53045 — iNaturalist

    Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Northern elephant seal