Greetings whalewatchers:
Searcher and all aboard enjoyed a gently rolling swell last night as we made our way down the Baja coast to San Benitos. We arrived first thing in the morning and everyone went ashore for a pleasant hike around the island. California sea lions, elephant seals, and Guadalupe fur seals were seen by the hikers as well as both sea and land birds.
While waiting on Searcher for the hikers to return to the beach for pickup, we witnessed a classic elephant seal fight between a grizzled old bull and a young upstart trying for a piece of the harem. They fought on land and fought in the water until the young one had enough. The whole thing encounter lasted less than ten minutes and the parties went their separate ways. The old bull in the picture is resting and surveying his harem.
We are now heading south to Laguna San Ignacio where we will spend the next two days.
Capt Buzz and Team Searcher
Elephant seal bull defends his harem.
