Our team has been so dedicated working around the clock, over time, whatever it takes to continue monitoring this outbreak. It's a really hard, emotional thing to go through as undergraduate, graduate students and young scientists to watch the seals that you've gotten to know over the years get sick.
Out of an abundance of caution, access is being paused to give wildlife space and allow for ongoing monitoring. The investigation involves scientists from UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, along with California State Parks, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Department of Public Health, the California Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NOAA Fisheries.
What can an elephant seal - a 4,000 pound, bellowing monstrosity that looks like a melted Yankee Candle - teach us about the world? Plenty, it turns out. "The animals are amazing. I mean, everything they do is extreme," says Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. "They're the deepest-diving pinniped and they dive for longer than any other seal or sea lion. They also fast for longer. Everything they do is just pushing the limits."
