(As you can see, using a tripod with the zoom lens helps greatly.)

The docent explained that herds of females, pups and adolescent males come ashore once a year during molting season. The reason for this has to do with maintaining a warmer temperature as they undergo this process. There is no other place in the world as easily accessed where this event can be seen.

The really big bulls are at sea at this time. "The real drama," explained the docent, happens in February, when the adult bulls duke it out with each other for mating privileges. Meanwhile, the adolescent males do a lot of "practice fighting", going through the motions but doing no harm to each other.