Imagine spending three months, mostly underwater, mostly in the dark, in freezing cold water hundreds of meters below the surface, on a long journey out to a destination at the far reaches of your physical limits. The three female elephant seals we feature in our exhibit, World Class Elephant Seal Athletes, have done just that, crossing the international dateline! We have nick-named them after some of the all-time most accomplished human (female) long-distance swimmers, Diana Nyad, Gertrude Ederle and Katie Ledecky.
In late Spring 2023, three adult female northern elephant seals, each carrying satellite tags, set out on their 7+ month post-molt migration. Each had given birth to a pup several months earlier and had returned to their home beach at Año Nuevo Reserve for the spring molt.
Google Earth image of their location 3200 miles from California, after crossing the international dateline.
By early September, 2023, this trio of exceptional seals had crossed the international dateline, and continued west, each over 3200 miles from their central California home base, near Santa Cruz, California!
We watched with anticipation as each of these elephant seals returned to the rookery for the 2024 winter birthing and breeding season, following their epic swims. Two of the three were pregnant at the time and gave birth to pups!
We honor and celebrate these three female elephant seals for their athleticism and incredible accomplishments. Their awesome journeys deserve the attention we hope they will gain by telling their stories.
The “World Class Elephant Seal Athletes” exhibit is on display daily from 10 AM-4 PM in the Elephant Seal Visitor Center at 250 San Simeon Ave, Suite 5A, San Simeon, CA (in the Cavalier complex.) After-hours visitors can also view the exhibit through the Center’s south windows.
Want to track an elephant seal’s migration yourself?
If you’d like to track an elephant seal in real-time, the Fahlo “Glide” elephant seal tracking bracelet is now available for purchase in the Elephant Seal Visitor Center or in our online store.
Created in partnership with UC Santa Cruz Beltran Lab + Seymour Marine Discovery Center, each seal bracelet unlocks an interactive tracking map and directly supports marine megafauna conservation worldwide. The bracelet is available in three colors: Aqua Blue, Sky Stone, Coral Reef Violet. Instructions are in the package, allowing you to start tracking today!
Follow your seal’s incredible journey on an interactive tracking map. You’ll also see some amazing stats including speed, distance traveled, and more!
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Roxanne Beltran, Ph.D., Patrick Robinson, Ph.D., Florencia Vilches, Doctoral candidate, and the Beltran Lab research team at University of California, Santa Cruz for sharing the stories of these incredible seals. All scientific data was collected under NMFS 23188.
The exhibit was curated by Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D., Friends of the Elephant Seal Board Liaison for Community Science and Research, in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz research team. Heather Barbis, HB Design805, created the final design for the exhibit.
READ MORE ABOUT THESE AMAZING ELEPHANT SEAL ATHLETES!
DIANA
Diana, an 8 year old female elephant seal, did this, not once, but twice! This incredible adult female elephant seal was born in 2016 and gave birth to her first pup at age 4, in Winter 2020 and her second pup in Winter 2021.
In Spring 2021, she left on her first epic journey, out 3,346 miles (5385 km) from her California coastal home at Año Nuevo reserve, near Santa Cruz, California. Following this first trek, in Winter 2022, she didn’t have a pup, which is common for young mothers. She gave birth to her third pup in Winter 2023 and left for the long migration after the Spring molt in June 2023.
Her second voyage out to this distance was recorded in 3 months later, when she was observed 3194 miles (5140 km) from home on September 8, 2023. She gained 448 lbs (203 kg) on this trip, returning in January 2024 to give birth to her 4th pup! She gained the most weight of the three seals.
We celebrate and honor this incredible female elephant seal for her amazing athleticism and endurance… What a thrill to watch her, not once, but twice!
TRUDY
Trudy was born in 2018 and gave birth to her first pup at age 4, in Winter 2022 and then had a second pup in Winter 2023.
At age 5, in June, 2023, she left on her amazing journey, and on September 10, 2023, 3 months later, was observed 3285 miles (5287 km) from her California coastal home near Santa Cruz, California.
Elephant seals are solitary at sea. Imagine Trudy all alone, diving deep underwater to evade predators and averaging 30-40 miles of distance per day to reach this destination!
She returned to the rookery 223 days later, on January 23, 2024. She weighed 832 lbs (377 kg) on her return from this successful trip, gaining 293 lbs (133 kg) while foraging. Trudy worked extremely hard, resting only a few hours each day, to gain 1-2 lbs per day to support her developing pup.
And that’s not the end of the story- she then gave birth to her third pup- a female- on January 27, 2024. Her pup was weaned 24 days later, and her pup left on her first migration on April 23, 2024.
We wish this young elephant seal mom all the best on her future migrations and hope her little pup has the same spirit of adventure as mom!
KATIE
Katie was born in 2018 and gave birth to her first pup at age 4, in Winter 2022 and then had a second pup in Winter 2023.
At age 5, in early June, 2023, she left on her foraging migration and 3 months later, was observed 3436 miles (5531 km) from her California home beach near Santa Cruz, CA. She traveled the farthest of the 3 elephant seal athletes! Her story is also different in other ways.
She not only traveled the farthest, but returned home the fastest of all three seals, arriving at the rookery only 186 days later, on December 10, 2023.
She weighed 930 lbs (422 kg) on her return, gaining 279 lbs (126.5 kg) while foraging. She did not give birth in Winter 2024. This intermittent breeding pattern is somewhat typical for young moms because reproduction is energetically costly.
Just like the Olympic champion swimmer Katie L, she inspired us with her speed and persistence. We honor her spirit and her drive.
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