a female black-tailed deer @ point reyes
male tule elk grazing @ point reyes
beginning in 18th century northern elephant seals (mirounga angustirostris) hunted extensively extinction end of 19th century. prized oil made blubber, , population may have fallen low 20. in 1874 american whaleman charles melville scammon recorded in marine mammals of northwestern coast of america, elephant seal...known old californians elefante marino had geographical distribution cape lazaro (about 1/4 of way baja peninsula) in south point reyes in north . thought extinct in 1884 until remnant population of 8 individuals discovered on guadalupe island in 1892 smithsonian expedition, promptly killed 7 of 8 collections. elephant seals managed survive, , protected mexican government in 1922. subsequently, u.s. protection strengthened after passage of marine mammal protection act in 1972, , numbers have recovered on 100,000. first breeding pair discovered on sheltered beach below point reyes chimney rock in 1981 , has multiplied @ remarkable 16% per year present population of 1,500 2,000 individuals each winter.
in 1978, ten tule elk (cervus canadensis ssp. nannodes) reintroduced point reyes san luis national wildlife refuge near los banos. 2009, on 440 elk counted @ tomales point s 2,600 acres of coastal scrub , grasslands. in 1999, 100 elk tomales point moved limantour wilderness area of seashore , above drakes beach. tule elk , native black-tailed deer once hunted, , population of black-tailed deer had been suppressed 2 introduced competitors, axis deer , fallow deer.
vegetation native point reyes includes bishop pine, douglas-fir, coyote brush, monkeyflower, poison oak, california blackberry, salal , coast redwood, among others.
nearly 490 different species of birds have been observed in park , on adjacent waters.
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