Presentation to dive into northern elephant seals of Whidbey

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 14, 2025

An upcoming Oak Harbor Library event will keep the public up-to-date on a certain group of long-nosed residents.

Garry Heinrich, response coordinator for the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network, will educate attendees on northern elephant seals this Thursday, Oct. 16 at 4-5 p.m. An ardent admirer of the pinnipeds, Heinrich is excited to share news of the small herd that calls Whidbey Island home.

“This family is really unusual because all the births occurred on the same beach where there are no other elephant seals,” he said.

The matriarch, Ellie, first appeared in 2010. She gave birth to Ellison in 2015, Elsie Mae in 2018, Eloise in 2020 and Elwood in 2021, all in Mutiny Bay. In 2022, Emerson, Elsie Mae’s first pup, was born a bit further north, in Bowman Bay.

It’s been a relatively quiet year for the northern elephant seals of Whidbey, but they’ve had many antics in the past. Islanders may recall Elwood got himself stuck in a storm drain and required rescuing, while Ellison got grouchy and took a bite out of a harbor seal, according to previous South Whidbey Record coverage.

Heinrich finds himself continuingly amazed by the recovery effort of the species, which was nearing double-digit numbers around the turn of the twentieth century. Today, there are estimated to be around 200,000.

While working at a Los Angeles oceanarium in the ‘70s, Heinrich fell in love with the pinnipeds with their big eyes and snotty noses.

“The males are ugly as heck,” he said with a laugh, referring to their large proboscis that resembles an elephant trunk.

Ellie and her children have been repeatedly sighted near Whidbey throughout the years, though some family members are currently unaccounted for. Ellie, Ellison and Elsie Mae are most likely to be spotted, while Heinrich hasn’t heard much about the recent whereabouts of Eloise, who had to be relocated after getting attacked by a coyote, or Elwood, the storm drain explorer. Emerson, Ellie’s grandson, has decided he likes the look of Victoria, B.C., but wasn’t seen this year.

“If they’re going out to sea, if they’re staying in the Sound, we just don’t know,” Heinrich said.

A Freeland resident, Heinrich gave marine mammal talks at the Freeland Library earlier this year. He also plans on doing another one at the Langley Library next month.

“They’re so cute,” he said of elephant seals. “They’re just incredible animals. The more I study them, the more they’re fascinating to me.”