According to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals, in the 1890's northern elephant seals were thought to be nearly extinct. A colony of less than two dozen was discovered off of southern California and was thereafter protected. A century later, the population has grown to well over 100,000. One of the largest elephant seal colonies in the world is now at California's Point Ano Nuevo, where I photographed this waving female in 2000.
