The Living Sanctuary Sea Otters are early morning risers. Before the sun comes up, they start their daily feeding which requires that they consume about a quarter of their body weight in food each day. Elephant seals are incredible swimmers. Male Elephant seals travel more than 4,000 miles between summer feeding areas and winter breeding grounds. These California sea lions are adult males that can weigh up to 750 pounds.
Sea lions use the rocky inter tidal for rest and refuge.
In many places along the California coast, visitors can observe sea lions congregating in large groups called rafts. Common dolphins are just one of the many species of dolphins that live within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Of those, many are large whales such as Humpbacks. Gray whales swim through the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary during their round trip migration to Baja Mexico. Blue whales, the largest creatures ever to roam this Earth, visit the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary during the summer months.