I spent a few morning hours yesterday at Scripps Park in La Jolla California. In a relatively short stretch of spectacular coastline, you have breeding plumage Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, Sea Lions, and Seals. Oh, and of course gulls. Lots of gulls. For the patient, scanning the sea from the heights of the cliffs often turns up pelagic species, or a passing pod of Gray Whales. Since my time was limited, I concentrated on the easy stuff…Pelicans, Sea Lions, and Seals.

At the south end of Scripps Park (just beyond the south end of park proper in fact) is a sheltered beach with a massive curving sea wall that is known locally as Children’s Beach. In March it is closed to humans, since the Harbor Seals have begun to use it as a pupping beach. Yesterday there were probably 50 adult female seals lolling on the beach or swimming in the sheltered cove, and at least that many pups of various ages. Many of the pups were in the water with their mothers…but the mother’s seemed intent on herding them up onto the beach. Not an easy task with the very active pups, who seemed equally intent on getting by their mothers and into the water again. Kids. What can you do?

Other pups were nursing. If you look closely here you can see the mother’s teat were the pup is attached.

Observing (and photographing) the seals from the top of the cliff that forms the inland side of the cove, it is impossible not to get an impression of affection between the mother’s and the pups. Much of what they do looks speciously like play or cuddling. I know we are not supposed to project human emotions onto other species, but until someone proves otherwise, I am going to remain convinced that what I was seeing on Children’s Beach in La Jolla was seal love…a mother’s love for her pup…and a pup’s love for its mother.

I have some video of the seal pups at play in the water that I will post when I get it processed.

One last shot. Note that the pup’s head is resting on it’s mother’s spread flipper.

All shots with the Canon SX40HS out near the long end of the zoom (840mm equivalent). The nursing close-up with 2x digital tel-extender added for 1680mm equivalent. All hand held.

Processed in Lightroom for Intensity, clarity, and sharpness.