Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery. These northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, spend eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1000 to 5800 feet for up to two hours at a time, and migrate thousands of miles twice a year, to their land-based rookery.
All images copyright © 2016 F.W. Vollmer and may not be used without permission.