Seals with zeal

Marine biologists are all atwitter about Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, who were recently seen lounging on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Reserve north of Santa Cruz, trying to get a little action with the ladies.

Wait. Correction. Biologists have actually been checking out the behavior of Stelephant Colbert (pictured) and Jon Sealwart, a couple of northern elephant seals named in honor of the Comedy Central talking heads, reported the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Dan Costa, a UC Santa Cruz biologist, and other researchers tagged the two 14-foot-long males last year with glued-on tracking devices. The animals spent months at sea and are now chilling onshore, mating, or trying to mate (as is the case with Colbert).

The researchers’ efforts are part of the Tagging of Pacific Predators project. They hope naming the giant creatures after the TV personalities will help bring awareness to the species.