Located along the Pacific Coast of California, Año Nuevo State Park is
the home to a massive colony of elephant seals with a yearly
numbering of around 10,000 seals. The park itself was created as a
sanctuary to protect the animal species from negative human
influence. This allows for the elephant seals to conduct a year round
mating cycle. In the mid 1800s, the seal population easily numbered
into the hundreds of thousands, but by the late 1800s, the seal
population was nearly hunted to extinction. Rampant poaching reduced
the North American seals to a mere 100 in the wild. With
environmental protection beginning to gain ground in the early 1900s,
the Mexican and U.S. governments placed the animals under strict
protection. Luckily, a single genetic family has resiliently brought the
once fledgling populace to a healthy number of around 160,000 in
North America.
Awards 2016 IPA Winner: Event/Social Causes 1st. Place.
