James Neihouse, Director of Photography, wrote about filming the elephant seals for Ocean Oasis in 1999. Excerpts are included here with his permission. All rights reside with him. The full account with photos can be read on his own website: www.1570films.com.

On this shoot we would be concentrating on the northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) found on the islands off the west coast of Baja. Isla de Guadalupe was our destination; this little island supports several colonies of these large pinnipeds.

We arrived at Guadalupe about 1:30 PM on Tuesday and made a quick survey of the areas where the elephant seals are known to haul out. Sure enough they were there, we picked a beach in an area known as Twin Canyons to set up our filming "camp" and started hauling the equipment ashore. Bringing all that gear on shore was not easy. We had to enclose everything in waterproof bags, avoid swamping the dinghy in the surf and wade chest deep in 60-degree water. All the while I'm trying not to look like an elephant seal pup in my black wetsuit [because of reports of sharks]. Once on shore, we wound our way through and around several of the beach residents—4000-pound elephant seals, who were not too happy to see us.

I love the smell of seal breath in the morning— Guadalupe Island is unlike most of the islands that sit along the coast of southern California from Point Conception southward in that it is volcanic in origin. The ancient lava flows, abruptly ending at water's edge, belie the island's tumultuous past. The Pacific is deep right up to the shore and there are few beaches. The beaches that exist are made up of dark brown, almost black, volcanic sand.

January is the pupping season for these giant marine mammals and the new mothers are very protective of their offspring. At least as protective as they can be with 5000 pound male elephant seals protecting their turf from would be suitors. Fights and threats take their toll on the young, a new born elephant seal does not stand much of a chance against a full grown male thundering down the beach pursuing a rival. The males accepted us, or rather put up with us better than the females. The new mothers were protecting their pups and the expectant mothers were protecting their piece of the beach. They would get very aggressive if you invaded their space and some would even chase you down the beach. They can move quite quickly for their size and their jaws are capable of crushing bones. You had to constantly be aware of who was behind you lest you end up getting a nip from one of the ladies.

Just walking down the beach could be a challenge. The dark volcanic sand and large rocks made some of the seals blend right into their surroundings. Add to that the fact that they like to fling sand over their backs for thermal control and you could walk right into an unsuspecting elephant seal if you didn't pay close attention. Most of the time they were watching us and would start bellowing a warning when we got too close. It was the ones that were not paying attention or asleep that could really surprise you. The pups are a very dark brown when they are young which makes them look even more like rocks. You could find yourself between a mother and her young one and be on the receiving end of some serious aggression.

One of the most curious behaviors of the elephant seal is the sand flinging. For reasons of thermal control these mammals almost constantly fling sand over their backs using the front flippers. When you watch several hundred of them lying on a beach doing this it brings to mind hundreds of little sand geysers erupting. The whole scene is sort of reminiscent of something from Star Wars