By Jan Chaffin December 27, 2020

It’s the day after Christmas 2020 at Waddell Beach near Ano Nuevo Elephant Seal Preserve. There’s a warm breeze and the sun is reflecting off the green tips of the huge waves. Vehicles full of families are pulling in and out of the parking lot constantly. Folks are stretching their legs and feasting their eyes on the beautiful Central California coast.

No one seems to notice the almost 5,000 pound Elephant Seal planted by the main entrance to the beach. A few families nearly trip over him until I call out “please watch out for the bull!”. I’m a State Park Service Aide and this is what I get to do.

Once I start pointing him out, folks become fascinated. He periodically lifts his massive head and chest up, tosses aside his humongous proboscis (snout) tilts his face to the sky, opens his mouth and bellows like a hells angel in a drain pipe. His deeply resonant short staccato burps are his calling card to other seals: “I’m Roger Rogue; here I am!” Families are delighted. When he settles back into the sand for periods of inactivity, folks ask: “Is he dead?!”

One young gentleman approaches me, clearly distraught. “I can’t believe the trash on this beach!” I try de-escalating with “Yes, it’s quite popular, we do the best we can.” He corrects: “Oh no, not you, I think you do great work. I’m a fisherman from Wisconsin and believe it’s within our power to stop pollution.” I cringe at how far he has travelled during a pandemic holiday lockdown, but it’s been a hard year for everyone, so I thank him and say: “Well, right now, my work is guarding this big guy” and point to “Roger” who, as if on cue, bellows boisterously for the gathering crowd.

The young fisherman turns and sees his first elephant seal. He is overcome and shouts with joy: “You go big guy, you get back in that ocean and swim, I LOVE you!”. Tears of joy stream down his (and my) face as he looks at me. “Don’t see those in Wisconsin, huh?” He nods no and smiles in gratitude.

Many wonderful opportunities to talk about the seal follow, and everyone is uplifted after spending time with the majestic mammal. But none are more transformed than the young fisherman so far from home the day after Christmas. This much I know: Seals Heal!