5/4/09

Post date: Jun 3, 2009 8:47:53 PM

The picture below shows a California harbor seal nursing her pup. Harbor seals can reach up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 300 pounds. The pups are born in April and can swim at birth. Pups sometimes ride on their mother's backs when tired. Their call sounds like "maaaaa".

We saw the harbor seals at China Cove at Point Lobos near Monterey. Artist Francis McComas called Point Lobos "the greatest meeting of land and sea". Look closely below and you can see masses of bullwhip kelp in the water. Kelp (a type of seaweed) can reach up to 120 feet long. Pacific coast Indians used it for fishing and storage containers. A mother sea otter sometimes wraps her baby in kelp to keep it from floating away while she searches for food.