An elephant seal colored an unusual shade of purple was spotted on a Bay Area beach over the weekend.
The color did not appear to be a result of illness or injury, park officials said, though theories for the seal’s color had included internal bleeding or a diet heavy on purple sea urchins. Experts ultimately determined that red algae had dyed the seal a purple hue on Año Nuevo State Park’s Bight Beach.
Red algae contain natural pigments that scientists have studied for use in dyes and colorants, including in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications…