Elephant Seal

Order	Pinnipedia
Family	Phocidea
Genus & Species	Mirounga leonina & Mirounga angustirotris
Length	Southern males, 16 feet; females 10 feet Northern males, 14 feet; females, 10 feet
Weight	Southern males, 5300 pounds; females 1500 pounds Northern males, 5000 pounds; females, 2000 pounds
Sexual maturity	3-5 years
Breeding season	Southern species, September to October Northern species, December to January
Gestation	11 months
Litter size	1 pup
Habit	Social during breeding
Diet	Fish and squid
Call	Roar, growl, or purr
Lifespan	Up to 14 years

With the exception of breeding season, elephant seals come ashore only to shed their skin, a process known as molting. In late summer, hundreds of seals gather on beaches and wallow in muddy pools of water. They lie close together while they gradually shed patches of hair and skin. Eventually, the old skin is replaced by a new coat of sleek fur, and the seals return to the water.

Elephant Seal

Male elephant seals arrive at breeding beaches a few weeks before the females to establish territories. The competition among the males is fierce: they engage in bloody fights to claim territories where females are likely to congregate. Shortly after the females arrive at the breeding colony, they give birth to single pups conceived in the previous mating season. The females are not ready to mate again until their pups are weaned four weeks later. Many larger males attempt to mate with the females too soon after they give birth; many females are injured, and 10 percent of the pups are killed.

Elephant seals feed primarily on fish and squid. Until recently, very little was known about their hunting behavior; recent studies have shown that they make extraordinarily deep dives of over 3000 feet. In this deep water they catch bottom-dwelling prey. Although elephant seals have long canine teeth, only the inch-long tips protrude through the gums. This and their dull molars make it difficult for them to on anything but soft-bodied prey.

Originally land animals, elephant seals have adapted to life in the sea by developing a thick layer of insulating fat, called blubber, that keeps them warm. The blubber also serves as a reserve store of food. Elephant seals move gracefully in the water. They propel themselves with their fins and use their forelimbs to change direction. On land, they use their forelimbs to move across the beach.

DID YOU KNOW?

Male elephant seals are so large that it has been difficult to find out how much they weigh. Scientists used to cut up dead seals to estimate their weight and found that the skin alone can weigh up to 250 pounds, the blubber 1450 pounds, the heart 93 pounds, and the head 115 pounds

Southern elephant seals are known to travel great distances from their breeding beaches. The longest recorded journey was over 3000 miles

Elephant seals sleep so soundly on breeding beaches that it is possible for a person to sit on one without waking it

The big difference in size between the male and female elephant seal is thought to be the greatest relative size difference between the sexes of any mammalian species

Information is Copyright IMP BV/IMP Inc.

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