- A group of elephant seals took advantage of the quiet on Drakes Beach during the government shutdown to knock down a fence, get cozy in the sand, and nurse their pups.
- There are reportedly about 60 seals and 30 pups there right now.
- The government is open again, but the sea mammals are standing their ground. On Saturday, park rangers started giving guided tours of the beach the animals have conquered.
While federal employees were away, the seals came out to play.
It's hard to say exactly when it happened, but at some point during the five-week government shutdown, a herd of elephant seals took advantage of all the quiet time on federal beaches, and became squatters on a stretch of Point Reyes National Seashore, a place in Marin County, California not far from San Francisco where people usually roam.
Even though the government is back in business, and park rangers have returned to work, the seals aren't budging. It's elephant seal child-rearing season right now, and the moms are busy with important parenting duties, after all.
On Saturday, rangers and volunteer docents started giving tours of the seal-occupied beach, keeping tourists at a safe distance from the seals. Take a look at where they've set up shop:
The occupation started when the seals knocked down a fence. Undeterred by the usual human presence on the beach, they set up camp.
The entire Drakes Beach area is now closed to the public, "to better protect the elephant seals from disturbance," the NPS said.
December to February is breeding season for the California seals. Normally, when the government is open, they set up camp nearby, above Drakes Bay.
The males arrive in December to claim their positions on the beach, and the females come in after them.
Females, who gestate for about seven months, will birth just one precious pup and they need this beach time to fatten up their babes in a hurry, and get them ready to swim.
Rangers and volunteer docents have opened the parking lot back up now that the shutdown is over, and they are giving guided tours of the makeshift seal nursery, walking people to the edge of the lot so they can get a closer look at the seals and their pups.
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