Argentina
November 6-29, 2009
November 12: Punta Ninfas: Punta Ninfas Elephant Seals
Besides the amazing geology, the big highlight at Punta Ninfas is the elephant seal colony. Unlike at Peninsula Valdez, there are no boardwalks, no roped off paths... you could walk right up to these animals and touch them. Not that you'd want to. Although pretty lazy and docile looking, you get near enough and they'll start to eye you suspiciously. And although they don't look like it, these guys can move fast and be absolutely vicious! So we kept a close eye on the kids and enjoyed the animals from a safe distance which was still exhilaratingly close!
Some information about elephant seals:
Weighing some 3 tonnes and measuring 4-5 m, bull elephant seals mean business. Though the average size of a harem for a dominant male ranges between 10-15 females, some supterstud tyrants get greedy. One macho male at Caleta Valdés amassed 131 consorts, fighting off love rivals in the process.
October is the best month to see the clashes of the titans. Adult females, a fifth of the size of the vast males, are pregnant for 11 months of the year, giving birth from about mid-September. Pups weigh 40 kg at birth, but then balloon on the rich milk of their mothers to weigh 200 kg after only 3 weeks.
The elephant seal's most remarkable attribute is as the world's champion deep-sea diving mammal. Depths of over a thousand metres are not uncommon, and some can reach depths of 1500m, staying submerged for a breathtaking 2 hours.
For the most part, these elephant seals just like to laze around... even the one in the water seems to be taking it easy!
We watched the seals... and some of them even watched back!
Rubby and Christopher among the elephant seals.
Samantha having a little Smarties break.
Christopher and Samantha checking out the rocks and shells on the beach.
Rubby is watching the wildlife...
Christopher playing around.
Rubby getting a closer look at some seals swimming around.
Lots of birds enjoying the exposed rocks during low tide.
This seal taking a dip seems undisturbed by all the birds.
As the tide creeps in, the birds have to move closer to shore or fly away.
This rocky hill is harder to climb than you might think!
A couple of oystercatchers.
Sammy seal and Christopher seal hanging out on the beach.
This is the one and only boat we saw out on the water all day.
A big guy splashes around as he makes his way into the water.
Hangin' out, trying to look cool.
Poppa relaxed while the kids had fun playing.
Lots of stuff to poke at.
A pair of ducks.
Hmmm, the blood on this one seems to indicate a recent fight.
As the tide comes in the birds fly away...
Meet Cala!
The seals seem to be saying bye to us too!
A couple of seals swimming in the water.
Ahhh, there's nothing like a good back scratch!
The molting look is just not attractive!
The water now covers all the rock formations we'd witnessed earlier.
The seals' 'feet' look like little propeller.
Awwwwww....
Bye seals!
A pair of cormorants.
A pair of fish heads.
Samantha has one more photo with a seal.
And the champion divers head back out to sea.
OK, there are a few lingerers.
Bye-bye!
On our way back up the cliff we see a little yellow bird.
A lizard.
Checking out the fossils again on the way up the cliffs.
As we reached the top we heard a giant bellowing...
we looked down and saw this HUGE elephant seal swimming along shore.
I think he was sad that we were leaving. ;-)
Bye elephant seals!
Looking back down at the swimming seals and a couple of stragglers (both humans and seals) on the beach.
next: Punta Ninfas - Lunch and Lighthouse >>
argentina menu: