Año Nuevo sea lions now on webcam

A new $20,000 webcam gives viewers worldwide access to the beach at Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve, reports the County Times.

Every corner of the remote 9-acre island, long the province of just the few researchers lucky enough to make the trip, has become part of the public domain — along with every burp, bark, snort and primordial grunt uttered by its corpulent inhabitants.

The state is engineering a "soft launch" of the high-definition webcam, a gift from a donor that has taken more than two years to set up with its solar panels and remote-controlled motion technology. ...

Viewers will find plenty of drama over the next two months as hundreds of female sea lions continue to lay their pups, mate one last time and leave their young elephant seals behind on the island to learn to swim, said Gary Strachan, supervising ranger at Año Nuevo State Reserve.

Click to view the webcam.