Molly McCormley at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab, CA—Alpha males are the KINGS of the elephant seals!  They have not only survived, but have become the most successful males of their species.  Considering that only 1 in 10 males will ever become alpha, these guys are rockstars!

Nicole Marie Teutschel  Año Nuevo State Reserve, CA-- Sebastian the elephant seal big, tough, and instead of answering to alpha, he IS the alpha.  Sebastian is an adult male elephant seal satellite tagged by TOPP last summer. Since, he has come ashore in a  big way: Sebastian is the alpha male of his harem in Bight Beach North. Sound familiar? Bight Beach North is the Harem where Poppy had her pup.