Northern elephant seal pup Bellyrub came through The Marine Mammal Center in 2024 and this portrait highlights one of my absolute favorite behaviors. For an animal that moves and looks like a slug, every single time they stand up to look at something, I can’t help but squeal internally. I love to joke that elephant seals are my favorite species to work with because they’re incredibly simple-minded creatures, but this behavior always makes me wonder what they’re thinking. Are they thinking? There must be some synapses firing in there… right? Those big glassy eyes, the intent with which they inspect something in front of them, it gives me hope that they’ll prove me wrong and show some intellect. But then I see their neighboring penmate sleeping in a puddle of diarrhea and that hope fades a bit. But to capture this brief moment of intellect, or at the very least curiosity, is all part of their charm, and having this piece feels like I’m the one being inspected by an animal who just might have some wheels churning.

Bellyrub is woodburned on a basswood round measuring 9 × 9.5 inches and perfect for a home where people love to be stared at intently by their art.