S3 03 Adult Female Elephant Seal Sounds Adult female elephant seals make a number of different sounds. Here’s Marine Ecologist Sarah Codde. “So, you can hear that softer sound she makes is to her pup… And then you can hear kind of that different sound when she’s angry… It’s much like, deeper and, you know, has that kind of aggressive sound. Where this is, we call, warbling, and it’s just this kind of nice soft call to get her pup’s attention.”

“Ha, ha, ha… ahh, those pups! I wonder what they’re saying?" asks Hines.

“Right…” said Codde. “Uh, ‘I’m hungry’ I guess,” she adds.

“I think so!" replied Hines.

Adult female elephant seals at Drake’s Beach, with Sarah Codde. Thanks for lending an Ear to the Wild. I’m Jack Hines. For more information, please visit eartothewild.com

Elephant seal monitoring activities at Point Reyes National Seashore are authorized under National Marine Fisheries Service Permit Number 27424. 

Environmental News

November 17, 2025

Proyecto Titi

Cotton-Top Tamarins are a small monkey known for its unique hairstyle and high pitched vocalizations native to North Colombian forests.
November 17, 2025

MarAlliance

Sharks and rays are key to the health of many marine ecosystems around the world, and are among the longest lived marine animals.
November 17, 2025

Global Penguin Society

Penguins are one of the most resilient animals on the planet, having evolved over 60 million years ago and adapted to survive extreme environments – but today, their populations are threatened by human activity.
November 17, 2025

Rhino Recovery Fund

While historically solitary and docile creatures Rhino’s find it difficult to protect themselves against humans.
November 13, 2025

Lion Recovery Fund

While seen as a strong and resilient species Lion numbers are dwindling. The Lion Recovery Fund works to help recover struggling populations.
October 19, 2025

Ear to the Wild: The Sound of the Surf at Drakes Beach

With the busy-ness of one’s day to day life it’s easy to forget how the rhythms of nature can sooth us. It’s good to take a minute to tune into this place, and to all the other creatures who live here at Drakes Beach, in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Sep 10, 2025

BeautifySJ

When San Jose volunteers feel the need to clean, BeautifySJ is there to supply all the tools and services necessary to facilitate their anti-litter…
Sep 10, 2025

The Trash Punx

“We’re a group of people…who want nothing but a cleaner world!”
May 27, 2025

The 3rd Annual Food and Wine Awards Recap

An unforgettable evening that brought together food lovers, changemakers, and public media supporters to celebrate the best of the Bay Area’s farms,…

Ear to the Wild

Northern California
Public Media Newsletter

Get the latest updates on programs and events.