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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Meet the harbour seal →

Total reports
54
Latest observation

Public reports · newest first

Public records archive

8 January—5 July

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4 of 54 reports

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Explore by area

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.

4 of 4 reports shown in coastal views · 4 areas

Bay Area and Point Reyes detail viewMonterey Bay and Point Lobos detail viewBig Sur and Cambria detail viewSan Diego coast detail view
Outlined areas show the coastal views below.

Bay Area and Point Reyes

Año Nuevo Coast Natural Preserve · 1 report1
Mapped areas North to south
  1. Año Nuevo Coast Natural Preserve1 report

Monterey Bay and Point Lobos

Monterey Bay · 1 report2
Mapped areas North to south
  1. Monterey Bay1 report

Big Sur and Cambria

Leffingwell Cove · 1 report3
Mapped areas North to south
  1. Leffingwell Cove1 report

San Diego coast

Village of La Jolla · 1 report4
Mapped areas North to south
  1. Village of La Jolla1 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. 12005
  2. 12007
  3. 12009
  4. 12010
  5. 12011
  6. 32017
  7. 32018
  8. 12019
  9. 62020
  10. 32021
  11. 32022
  12. 32023
  13. 32024
  14. 42025
  15. 202026

Months in 2025

  1. 1Jan
  2. 0Feb
  3. 0Mar
  4. 0Apr
  5. 0May
  6. 0Jun
  7. 3Jul
  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. Leffingwell Cove, Cambria, California Leffingwell Cove
    Unidentified Karek Walker — iNaturalist (kwalkeriv)

    Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina richardii). Harbour seal

  2. Village of La Jolla, San Diego, California Village of La Jolla
    Unidentified David Lewis — iNaturalist (whoa_whats_that)

    Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Harbour seal

  3. Monterey Harbor Monterey Bay
    Unidentified Kylie Marozsan / NOAA MBNMS — SIMoN Photo Library

    Harbor seals were photographed resting on rocks and in the water near Monterey Harbor. Harbour seal

  4. Año Nuevo Coast Natural Preserve, Pescadero, California Año Nuevo Coast Natural Preserve
    Unidentified Daria Mattly — iNaturalist (daria_mattly)

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