Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz, Long Marine Lab-- They are MIGHTY, they are GNARLEY, they are PROUD, they ARE….losers.  Male elephant seals can have a tough life! Only 1 out of 10 males get to become alpha, or kings of their own harem of females. The others are left to become beta males (big males that are second to alpha), sneaker males (males who inch their way into harems under alpha's radar) and the losers. Loser males, as the books call them, are the males that are a little smaller, a little younger, ambivilent, or just not very good at combat. These guys line the outskirts of Año Nuevo State Reserve, just waiting for their chance to reproduce.

The loser males are left pinning for love.  Newbie’s who haven’t been in the mating game for that long and are usually 3 to 5 years old typically fall into this category. You can pick these guys out of the crowd because their noses aren’t as large and won’t be fully grown until they’re 7 to 9 years old! Some of losers are older, and though they may have been alpha at one time, sadly the younger stronger males pushed them out. 

An Older loser male, (you can tell by his nose that he's no spring chicken) sitting on the beach at Año Nuevo State Reserve.  Loser males will mainly hang out by themselves lounging around the dunes, the water's edge, or even way off the beach in the meadows beyond the dunes. Photo: Molly McCormley

To determine the loser, males fight just often as alpha males.  Some, if they can help it, try not to fight at all. That doesn’t mean they are wimps!! Males just want to save their strength for fights that count!  If they can tell that a male is bigger than them, they run.  If they can’t tell, then the ritual begins.  Males have huge noses for a reason, its not just to attract the ladies!  They use their noses to make vibrations that sound like beating drums to intimidate the other male.  They also posture with their heads in the air, while signaling in order to show their immense body! They look positively regal! However, the other male looks more regal, so they run.  Obviously, since they are in the loser club, they don’t do much intimidating.  In fact, the small ones hardly ever make it to the next round, which involves male-to-male combat. This means that they must practice a lot to make it into the big leagues!

A loser male sitting all alone on the beautiful beach at Año Nuevo State Reserve.  Photo: Molly McCormley.

Though they may be losers, that doesn’t make them any less of a male! They still share all the same awesome traits that all the other amazing elephant seals have.  The females just haven’t figured that out yet, so until they do, loser males are left looking on in envy!

By looking at his nose you can tell that this is a younger male.  He is hiding from the bigger males at Año Nuevo State Reserve!  Photo: Molly McCormley.
This is the previous seal at a different angle at Año Nuevo State Reserve.  From this way you can really see the differences in the nose from the very first seal shown!  Photo: Molly McCormley.
A loser male, contemplating life, all alone amoung the dunes at Año Nuevo State Reserve.  Photo: Molly McCormley.

Stay tuned for more Day in the Life blogs! If you’d like to learn more check out the E Seal species page and the Elephant Seal Homecoming Days page!