Elephant seal: brief description. Interesting facts about the elephant seal Where does the elephant seal live

There are only a couple of species of elephant seals, named according to the part of the Earth's hemisphere they occupy. These are truly unique animals, the sex of their newborn offspring is determined by the water temperature and general weather conditions.

Description of the elephant seal

The first fossils of elephant seals date back hundreds of years.. The animals got their name because of a small process in the muzzle area, which looks very much like an elephant’s trunk. Although only males “wear” such a distinctive feature. The muzzle of females is smooth with a regular neat nose. On the nose of both of them there are vibrissae - supersensitive antennae.

This is interesting! Each year, elephant seals spend half of the winter season molting. At this time, they crawl ashore, their skin swells with many bubbles and, literally, comes off in layers. It looks unpleasant, and the sensations are no more joyful.

The process is painful and causes discomfort to the animal. Before everything is over and new fur covers its body, a lot of time will pass, the animal will lose weight and take on an emaciated and emaciated appearance. After the end of the molt, elephant seals return to the water again to gain fat and replenish their reserves of strength for the upcoming meeting with the opposite sex.

Appearance

These are the largest representatives of the seal family. They are geographically divided into two types - southern and northern. The inhabitants of the southern regions are slightly larger in size than the inhabitants of the northern ones. Sexual dimorphism in these animals is extremely clearly expressed. Males (both southern and northern) are much larger than females. The average mature male weighs about 3000-6000 kg and reaches a length of five meters. The female barely reaches 900 kilograms and is about 3 meters tall. There are at least 33 species of pinnipeds, and elephant seals are the largest of all.

The color of an animal's coat depends on various factors, including the animal's sex, species, age and season. Depending on them, the coat may have reddish shades, light or dark brown or gray. Basically, females are slightly darker than males, their fur is close to earthy in color. Males predominantly wear mouse-colored fur. From a distance, flocks of elephants that have come out to bask in the sun resemble plush giants.

The elephant seal has a huge body that looks like an oval shape. The animal's paws are replaced with flippers, convenient for fast movement in the water. At the ends of the front flippers there are webbed fingers with sharp claws, in some cases reaching a length of five centimeters. The elephant seal's legs are too short to move quickly on land. The stride length of an adult multi-ton animal is only 30-35 centimeters, because the hind limbs are completely replaced by a forked tail. The head of the elephant seal is small, relative to the size of the body, smoothly flowing into it. The eyes are dark, flattened oval in shape.

Lifestyle, behavior

On land, this huge marine mammal behaves extremely clumsily. However, as soon as the elephant seal touches the water, it turns into an excellent diver-swimmer, reaching speeds of up to 10-15 kilometers per hour. These are massive animals that lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle in the water. Only once a year do they gather in colonies to breed and molt.

How long does an elephant seal live?

Elephant seals live from 20 to 22 years, while the life expectancy of the northern elephant seal most often reaches only 9 years. Moreover, females live an order of magnitude longer than males. This is all due to the multiple injuries received by the male sex in fights for superiority.

Sexual dimorphism

The pronounced differences between the sexes are one of the most striking characteristics of northern elephant seals. Males are not only much larger and heavier than females, but also have a large, elephantine trunk, which they need for fights and demonstrating their superiority to the enemy. Also artificially obtained, a distinctive feature of the male elephant seal is the scars on the neck, chest and shoulders, acquired during the endless battles for leadership during breeding periods.

Only the adult male has a large trunk, reminiscent of an elephant's trunk. It is also suitable for making the traditional mating roar. The expansion of such a proboscis allows the elephant seal to amplify the sound of snorts, grunts and loud drum bellows that can be heard several kilometers away. It also functions as a moisture-absorbing filter. During the mating season, elephant seals do not leave the land area, so the water saving feature is quite useful.

Females are an order of magnitude darker than males. They are most often brownish in color with lighter areas around the neck. Such spots remain from the endless bites of males during the mating process. The size of males ranges from 4-5 meters, females 2-3 meters. The weight of an adult male is from 2 to 3 tons, females barely reach a ton, weighing 600-900 kilograms on average.

Species of elephant seals

There are two separate species of elephant seals - northern and southern. Southern elephant seals are simply huge. Unlike most other oceanic mammals (such as whales and dugongs), these animals are not entirely aquatic. They spend about 20% of their lives on land and 80% in the ocean. Only once a year they crawl onto the shores to molt and perform the reproductive function.

Range, habitats

Northern elephant seals are found in the waters of Canada and Mexico, while southern ones are located off the coast of New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. Colonies of these animals crawl out onto the beaches in whole clouds to moult or compete for a mate. This can happen, for example, on any beach from Alaska to Mexico.

Diet of elephant seals

Its menu mainly includes cephalopods that live in the deep sea. These are squids, octopuses, eels, rays, skates, crustaceans. Also some types of fish, krill, and sometimes even penguins.

Males hunt on the bottom, while females go out into the open ocean to find food. To determine the location and size of potential food, elephant seals use vibrissae, identifying prey by the slightest fluctuations in the water.

Elephant seals dive to great depths. An adult elephant seal can spend two hours underwater, diving to depths of up to two kilometers.. What exactly do elephant seals do during these epic dives, the answer is simple - feed. When the bellies of captured elephant seals were dissected, many squid were discovered. Less commonly, the menu includes fish or some types of crustaceans.

After breeding, many northern elephant seals travel north to Alaska to replenish their own fat reserves used up while on land. The diet of these animals requires deep-sea diving skills. They can dive to depths of more than 1,500 meters, remaining underwater until they emerge for about 120 minutes. Although most dives at shallower depths only last about 20 minutes. More than 80% of the year's time is spent feeding at sea in order to provide energy for the breeding and molting seasons, in which feeding retreats are not provided.

A huge reserve of fat is not the only adaptation mechanism that allows the animal to feel great at such a significant depth. Elephant seals have special sinuses located in the abdominal cavity, where they can store additional amounts of oxygenated blood. This allows you to dive and hold air for about a couple of hours. They can also store oxygen in the muscles with myoglobin.

Reproduction and offspring

Elephant seals are solitary animals. They gather together only for periods of molting and reproduction, on land. Every winter they return to peculiar breeding colonies. Female elephant seals reach sexual maturity between 3 and 6 years of age, while males reach sexual maturity between 5 and 6 years of age. However, this does not mean that a male who has reached this age will begin to participate in reproduction. He is not yet considered strong enough for this, because he will have to fight for the female. Only by the age of 9-12 will he gain enough mass and strength to be competitive. Only at this age can a male acquire Alpha status, which gives him the right to “own a harem.”

This is interesting! Males fight each other using body weight and teeth. While fatal fights are rare, mutual gifts in the form of scars are common. The harem of one Alpha male ranges in number from 30 to 100 females.

Other males are pushed to the outskirts of the colony, sometimes mating with females of slightly less "quality" before being chased away by the Alpha male. The males, despite the distribution of the “ladies” having already taken place, continue to remain on land throughout the entire period, defending the occupied territories in the fight. Unfortunately, during such fights, females are often injured and recently born cubs are killed. Indeed, during the battle, a huge, six-ton ​​animal rises to the height of its own height and with unimaginable force falls on the enemy, destroying everything that is in its path.

The northern elephant seal's annual breeding cycle begins in December. At this time, huge males crawl out onto deserted beaches. Large numbers of pregnant females will soon follow the males to form large groups, like harems. Each group of females has its own dominant male. Competition for dominance is extremely intense. Males establish dominance through looks, gestures, all kinds of snorts and grunts, increasing their volume with the help of their own trunk. Spectacular fights end with many mutilations and injuries left by the opponent's fangs.

2-5 days after the female remains on land, she gives birth to a baby. After the baby elephant seal is born, the mother feeds him milk for some time. Such food, secreted by the female's body, accounts for about 12% fat. After a couple of weeks, this number increases to more than 50%, acquiring a liquid jelly-like consistency. By comparison, cow's milk contains only 3.5% fat. The female feeds her cub in this way for about 27 more days. At the same time, she does not eat anything, but relies only on her own fat reserves. Shortly before the young are separated from their mother and set off on their own voyage, the female mates again with the dominant male and returns to the sea.

Over the next four to six weeks, the babies engage in vigorous swimming and diving before leaving the shore where they were born to spend the next six months at sea. Despite the fat reserves that allow them to go without food for a long time, the mortality rate of babies during this period is extremely high. For about another six months they will walk a fine line, since it is during this time that about 30% of them will die.

Slightly more than half of mating females do not give birth to a baby. The female's pregnancy lasts about 11 months, after which a litter of one baby is born. Therefore, females arrive at the breeding site already “in pregnancy”, after last year’s mating. Then they give birth and get down to business again. Mothers do not eat for the entire month it takes to feed their baby.

Natural enemies

Baby elephant seals are extremely vulnerable. As a result, they are often eaten by other predators, such as or. Also, a large proportion of cubs may die as a result of numerous battles between males for leadership.

Class: Mammals

Order: Pinnipeds

Family: True seals

Genus: Elephant seals

Species: Southern elephant seal

The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) is an animal of the seal family (Phocidae).

The southern elephant seal is the largest carnivore on our planet. Male southern elephant seals weigh an average of 2.2 tons. up to 4t. and can reach up to 5.8 meters in length. The largest specimen among the southern elephant seals, it reached a length of 6.85 meters and weighed about 5 tons.

Interesting Facts:

Southern elephant seals can remain underwater for more than twenty minutes.
The documented record for staying under water was approximately two hours. The maximum depth to which southern elephant seals can dive is more than 1,400 meters.
Elephant seals have a long, pendulous nose that resembles a trunk, which is why they are named that way.
The elephant spends most of its life, more than 80 percent, in the ocean

Http://malpme.ru/samye-krupnye-zhivotnye-na-zemle/

The southern elephant seal lives along the coast of Antarctica and subarctic islands. Before man landed on Antarctica, elephant seals lived further north than they do now. The largest population lives on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean. The southern elephant seal is also found on the Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie Islands and the Valdez Peninsula in Argentina.

When the southern elephant seal is on land, it is found along the coast on smooth sandy beaches or small rocks. They are on land only during the breeding season and molting season, which lasts 3–5 weeks in the spring. The rest of the year is spent only at sea.

Dimorphism is observed not only in size. Males have a large trunk that increases vocalizations, used to challenge other males. The southern elephant seal's trunk is slightly smaller than those of their northern relatives, overhanging the mouth by only 10 cm, compared to 30 cm for the northern elephant seal.

Male southern elephant seals reach rookeries several weeks before females and, through vocalizations, body postures, and fighting, occupy a defined territory. The best and largest territories go to the largest and strongest males. These alpha males become the head of the harem, and with the arrival of women, it can include about 60 females. If there are more women in the harem, then the females go to the beta males. A man must remain on his territory, protecting it, and therefore must go without food for a long time. Lack of food and aggressive clashes with males, energy consumption in the process of mating with a large number of women lead to physical exhaustion of the male body. Only males in ideal physical condition are able to defend their territory for this long time.

If this does not deter the challenger, then fights take place.

The winner takes the territory as a prize.

The shedding process involves the loss of all fur, which grows over the next 3 to 5 weeks. Apart from spending time on land to breed and molt, the southern elephant seal lives a solitary life in the waters of the southern oceans. While in the water, elephant seals rarely encounter each other and thus have no need to communicate.

While at sea, the southern elephant seal can stay underwater for two hours, but most dives last no more than 30 minutes. Surprisingly, they spend 2–3 minutes between dives on the surface of the water. They dive to depths of 300 – 800 m.

Southern elephant seal and man

In the past, southern elephant seals were hunted for food, skin, and oil. This activity has been stopped and the animal is now protected and is harvested in limited quantities.

Thoughtless human activity almost destroyed one of the curious species of animals - the elephant seal. They got their name not only for their enormous size (these animals) but also for their peculiar nasal growth. Thick and fleshy, it looks like an underdeveloped trunk. It is not used as a hand, like a real land elephant, but “works” as a resonator organ, several times increasing the sound of the roar.It also shows the surrounding relatives how formidable and powerful its owner is.

Description

The elephant seal is a pinniped, a family of true seals. They are even larger than walruses and are the largest in their class of predators. They are distinguished by their heavy build, very rough skin, covered with fur. The fat layer can account for up to 30% of an elephant’s live weight. Sexual dimorphism is very clearly expressed - the size of males significantly exceeds the size of females. Another difference is that females do not have a trunk. Two types are known: northern and southern.

The elephant seal is an excellent diver, can hold its breath for up to 2 hours and descend to a depth of almost two kilometers. Its speed of movement in water is up to 23 km/h. Their food is fish, shellfish, plankton, and cephalopods. Among the main enemies (besides humans) are killer whales and large sharks. On the shore, no one threatens them, so they are very carefree and can afford to sleep soundly, often with loud snoring. They move on land with difficulty, pulling up their carcass on their front flippers. In one such “throw” the animals cover a distance of no more than 35 cm.

Females reach sexual maturity at 3-4 years, males at 6-7 years. The breeding season is once a year. It begins with the fact that adult (from 8 years old) males are the first to swim to the rookery sites and occupy sections of the beach. Then the females arrive and, entering the “conquered” territory, automatically become members of the harem. There are sometimes up to 50 females per elephant (usually within 20). Fights over females can be very brutal. During an intense fight, the elephant seal rises to its full gigantic height, holding its body in an upright position on one tail. Young males (up to 8 years old) usually live on the periphery of the rookery and do not try to argue with the owners of the harems.

Pregnancy lasts 11 months. Typically, females begin giving birth 5-6 days after arriving on shore. Newborn cubs feed exclusively on mother's milk for 4-5 weeks. They are born weighing up to 50 kg, up to 120 cm long. After a month, they move to the outskirts of the rookery and after molting, at the age of 3-4 months, they go to sea. After feeding their babies, females are ready to mate.

Southern

Animal sizes: males - 6 meters in length, weight up to 4 tons, females are three times smaller. The southern elephant seal (photo in the text) has its own peculiarity: it has a clear division between rookeries. Some are used as “maternity wards”, others several hundred kilometers away are used for feeding. Islands - breeding sites:

• Kerguelen.
• Campbell.
• Crozet.
• Macquarie.
• Morion.
• Tierra del Fuego.
• Auckland.
• Prince Edward.
• Falkland.
• Hurd.
• South Georgia.
• South Orkney.
• South Sandwich.
• South Shetland.

The mating period is from September to November. Today the total number of animals is up to 700,000 heads.

Northern

The northern relative differs little in lifestyle. Mating occurs in February. It has permanent rookeries where the elephant seal comes to breed and moult. The mainland (west coast of North America) from Mexico to Canada with pebble beaches or gently sloping rocky shores has long been favored by water giants. It is smaller in size than its southern brother; males grow up to 5 meters, their weight ranges between 2.5 tons. They have a large trunk up to 30 cm, in an excited state it increases to 70 cm. Females weigh up to 900 kg, body length up to 3.5 meters.

It was the northern elephant seals that bore the brunt of extermination. After strict measures to ban fishing, their population has now grown to 15 thousand individuals. Not bad at all, considering there were about a hundred of them left.

Elephant seals are giants from the family of true seals. They are very similar to hooded seals, but are significantly larger in size. In nature, there are only 2 species of elephant seals: northern and southern.

They justify their name 100%. They are so huge that they cannot be compared with anyone other than elephants.
They grow up to 5 meters in length and weigh up to 2.5 tons!

Females are somewhat smaller than their male counterparts. They rarely grow more than 3 meters. What distinguishes the elephant seal from other representatives of true seals is the amount of subcutaneous fat. They can accumulate it in astronomical amounts. Fat can make up 35% of the total mass.

They also look like elephants because of the fleshy growth on their nose. Of course, this is not a full-fledged elephant trunk, but in comparison this detail is not unimportant.

This “instrument” is used as a resonator for menacing roars, and as an intimidating element during the mating season.

Females do not have such an attribute of masculinity.

The skin of the elephant seal, as befits an elephant, is rough and thick. It is covered with short thick fur. Adults are all brown in color. The young are silver-gray.

Southern elephant seals live on the shores of Patagonia and on the sub-Antarctic islands. The northern ones have chosen the North American shores, spreading from Mexico and California to Canada. Elephant seals are rarely seen alone. They form huge rookeries on pebble beaches.

Elephant seals form two types of rookeries. On one, they make eyes at each other. These rookeries are called feeding grounds.

There are also breeding grounds. There, females give birth and raise young. This state of affairs is very wise. Elephant seals are very clumsy on land. With their weight they can simply destroy all the young animals. Therefore, maternity hospitals and kindergartens are located several hundred kilometers from the feeding beach.

Elephant seals feed on mollusks. Sometimes they can eat a small fish.

These animals are very calm and apathetic. But! If you get the opportunity to see them in person, don’t test their patience for too long!

Cubs are born once a year. The mating season begins in August-September, when spring begins in the southern hemisphere.

First, adult males and females arrive on the beach. The young arrive a little later. Males begin to divide the beach, occupying their own pieces of territory. They zealously protect their “cuts” of the beach from other males. If necessary, they engage in battle with each other. The males inflate their proboscis, roar menacingly and bite each other until there is blood and severe injuries. What can I say... Love is evil.

The female becomes someone's by simply coming to the territory of this male. Once she comes, it means she needs to mate. Unless, of course, her opponent takes her away.

Some males manage to form a large harem of females. There can be up to 30 representatives of the fairer sex. Pregnancy lasts up to 11 months. The most interesting thing is that the mating season coincides with the birthing season.

Having fed her offspring with milk for only one month, the mother is in a hurry to conceive again. The babies, by the way, weigh up to 30 kilograms at birth, leave the rookery, and wait a couple more months until the molt passes. At this time, they eat practically nothing, and are alive only because mother’s milk is an explosive mixture of proteins and carbohydrates, with an incredible calorie content. Sucked out and deposited in subcutaneous fat in a month is enough to maintain strength for another 2 months.

Elephant seals are considered enemies in nature

Including the largest representatives of the order of predatory mammals. They owe their name to the trunk-shaped nose of males and their large dimensions. Despite the fact that elephant seals are true seals, in their behavior and some other characteristics they are more reminiscent of eared seals. There are two very similar species - the northern elephant seal, which lives on the west coast of North America, and the southern elephant seal, which lives in Antarctica.

Appearance

Elephant seals did not get their name by chance; these animals are truly gigantic in size. The body length of male southern elephant seals can reach up to 5 m and weight up to 2.5 tons! Females are much smaller and reach a length of “only” 3 m. Elephant seals differ from other seals in their overall heavy build and large amount of subcutaneous fat. The weight of the fat layer can be 30% of the total weight of the animal.

In addition to their size, elephant seals have another feature that makes them look like real elephants. The males of these animals have a thick, fleshy outgrowth on their nose, similar to a short trunk. During the mating season, the trunk is used for decoration, intimidation and as a resonator, enhancing the menacing roar.

Features of behavior

Elephant seals spend most of their lives underwater, feeding on fish and shellfish. They are able to dive to a depth of about 140 meters, holding their breath for more than two hours. At the same time, the activity of their internal organs slows down, which saves the necessary amount of oxygen. Their natural enemies are white sharks, which wait for long-nosed seals in the upper layers of the water.

Elephant seals come ashore only in the warm season in order to give birth to offspring and conceive new ones. For three whole months, huge colonies fill the coastal zones.

Young three- to four-year-old elephant seals are forced to lead a bachelor lifestyle - they are pushed out of the edges of the colony by their more mature eight-year-old brothers. Considering this state of affairs to be unfair, they from time to time try to break through to the “married” females, which leads to new fights.

Species and habitat

There are two known species of these - northern and southern elephant seals. The former are found on islands along the west coast of North America. They are slightly smaller than their southern relatives. Males weigh 2.7 tons with a body length of almost 5 m. Their trunk reaches 30 cm, which is much larger than that of the “southerners”.

Southern elephant seals gather in colonies on subantarctic archipelagos and islands such as Kerguelen, Macquarie, Heard and South Georgia. Individual individuals are found on the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. The weight of the largest males can reach 3.5 tons, and body length - 6.5 m. Females of both species are half the size of their partners.

Reproduction

Animals begin to arrive at the rookeries at the beginning of spring. This is the end of August - the first ten days of September (in the southern hemisphere, summer begins in December and winter in June). First, pregnant females appear on the rocky shores. The males arrive later. Fights immediately begin between them. Sometimes they turn into whole bloody battles, since elephant seals have quite powerful front fangs.

In the end, everything calms down, and each male finds a harem. It can include 10 females, or a hundred. It all depends on the strength and aggression of the male. The birth of babies occurs in September and October. Females crawl away to give birth in secluded places. The cub is born alone. Its body length reaches up to a meter, and its weight is 25-30 kg.

The mother feeds the baby with milk for a month. Then she returns to the male and becomes pregnant again. The gestation period is 11 months, that is, almost a year. The baby is left alone. He is already getting married without his mother's supervision. When he is 3 months old, he swims with his peers into the open ocean. After molting, at the end of February, adult animals leave the rookery until next spring. Sexual maturity in males occurs at 4 years, in females at 2 years. The female gives birth every year for 10-12 years. These animals live on average 20 years.

Another enemy is man. In past centuries, he mercilessly destroyed harmless animals for their fat. From one killed elephant seal they received at least 500 kg of valuable product. Nowadays, fishing for these is prohibited. In this regard, their number has increased. The number of southern elephant seals today is 750 thousand. At least 250 thousand animals live on the island of South Georgia, and the same number on the Kerguelen Islands. These are the largest rookeries of huge seals, which they share with penguins.

The belonging of elephant seals to true seals today is indisputable, but their position within this taxon is often the subject of debate. King hypothesized in 1983 that elephant seals are most closely related to the monk seal genus and that both genera represent the most ancient forms of true seals. In 1996, Binida-Emodnes and Russell could not find evidence for such a close relationship, but they confirmed the basic position of elephant seals in the taxonomy of true seals.