Video provided by Alexander Briseno.

Check out these beautiful, gurgling elephant seals seen lounging along the Humboldt County coast last week.

Ferndale native Alexander Briseno took this video while hiking the Lost Coast Trail on Friday morning.

“[Getting to the seals] is a 3 mile hike south from Mattole beach,” Briseno said. “It’s by the Punta Gorda Lighthouse.”

Humboldt State professor of zoology Dawn Goley said via email that the seals are part of a small new colony that has formed along the trail.

“We have been working with the Bureau of Land Management, who manage the wilderness area, to help visitors understand how to protect the seals and themselves and to appreciate the significance of this newly established colony,” Goley said. “Elephant seals may seem docile, but they can be aggressive and move surprisingly quickly.”

Although hikers are welcome to watch these big beautiful blobs, keep in mind that federal regulations require visitors to stay at least a football field’s length away from the seals at all times.

“In addition to the potential of injury to the seal, yourself or your dog, elephant seals and other pinnipeds can also contract disease from dog feces and visa versa - so it is best to keep your pets at a safe distance,” Goley said. “It is a good thing that elephant seals are so big you can enjoy them from a distance!”

Goley said this new colony supports the Bureau of Land Management’s philosophy on protecting wildlife areas.  

“By managing this undisturbed coastline and by educating those hikers who pass along the coast, the BLM has helped to make this wilderness area an inviting place for elephant seals to colonize,” Goley said. “By maintaining this respectful and protective treatment of wildlife in the area, we can hope to keep the Lost Coast Trail an inviting wilderness area for endangered species to recolonize into the future.”

Goley said she expects the current seal colony to be made up of subadults and pups. Happy seal watching Humboldt!