Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris)
Male Northern elephant seals (photo credit: NOAA Fisheries)
Description: The Northern elephant seals are the second largest species of “true seal” (earless seals) in the world, after their relative the Southern elephant seal. Males are significantly larger than females and can grow to be 13 feet long and weigh more than 4,000 pounds. Males have a large trunk like nose, the reason that this species was names elephant seals. Unlike many other seals, elephant seals rarely come to land. With the exception of breeding season and when they molt, elephant seals spend most of their life in the open ocean. They are known for diving deep and can stay under water for up to 2 hours before they need to surface and take a breath.
Habitat: Ranging from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Baja California, Mexico, elephant seals inhabit a variety of beaches and near shore islands. During breeding season, December to March, elephant seals will gather in the Channel Islands and other secluded islands in Southern California and Baja California. In the summer they migrate North. Males will often go as far as Alaska, while females typically stay in the coastal waters of Oregon and Washington. They are often spotted in the mouth of the Columbia River, and occasionally on Cannon Beach when they are molting.
Diet: Northern elephant seals eat fish, squid, and octopus. They forage in deep water, regularly diving more than 650 feet.
Tide Pool Tidbits:
Juvenile elephant seal (photo credit: NOAA Fisheries)
Elephant seals can dive to more than 1 mile below sea level, deeper than any other mammal in the world.
Males are typically 3 times the size of males. This is a very extreme example of sexual dimorphism, males and females of the same species looking different from each other.
It is estimated that nearly 80% of an elephant seals life is spent below the surface of the ocean.
Northern elephant seals were hunted to near extinction during the 1800s for their pelts, but they have successfully recovered and today the population is stable.