10 Information About Elephant Seals - Chimu Adventures Weblog

Elephant seals in Antarctica are a fantastic sight to behold on any trip to Antarctica and one of the region’s most distinctive and recognisable species. Considered one of our favourite species is the Elephant Seal, listed below are some fun details about these magnificent creatures and the setting they inhabit. An Antarctic cruise is an icy safari, with many different species of animals to observe. Females are smaller and weigh round 7 - 800 kg. An adult male Elephant seal can weigh up to five tonnes and measure up to six and a half metres! Elephant seal babies when born weigh round 50 kilograms. Inside three months they are going to weigh 150kg! Pups are generally born from September to October when their mothers come ashore at their berthing beaches across the continent. The gestation interval for a female Elephant seal is 9 months. Elephant seals are extremely social animals and type massive teams or harems for a month throughout the breeding season. Elephants seals are amongst the most important carnivores in the world consuming squid and fish as the principle sources of food of their diet, and have been measured diving up to up to 2000m deep and may hold breath for up to 2 hours! Sexual dimorphism is a physical distinction between the male and female of a species. Males could also be up to 10 times the burden of reproductive females. Elephant seals may be found across the Antarctic area, however are most prevalent across the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. They had stuffed elephant for baby been hunted for their blubber in the course of the sealing days. Only 2 - 3 % of male Elephant seals truly breed. London alone used 20,000 tonnes of elephant seal oil to light town a 12 months. These animals have grown from a small group of animals, and do lack genetic range, so there are nonetheless issues over the longer term of these animals. Nonetheless, from a small group of animals left, there at the moment are an estimated population of 150,000 which live mainly around the Baja Gulf in Mexico and on the shores of Southern California, USA. Their primary predator is the Orca, and in the northern most part of their range.. Large sharks. Leopard seals have also been identified to attack and kill stray young. They're referred to as elephant seals due to a variety of reasons, partly because of their size and in addition partly due to the male snout or trunk that inflates to impress and intimidate rivals when competing with other males for his harem. The depth and quantity of the sound is a demonstration to others how powerful he's, and thus so avoids fights with competing males. The trunk is inflated with air which is inhaled and thus a loud bellowing sound is produced. Benefit from the majestic Elephant seal on a cruise to Antarctica, but keep your distance - regardless of their measurement they'll move quick on land, and are extremely aggressive when protecting their territory and younger. Usually they aren't afraid of man, nonetheless if disturbed while resting, reproducing or marking territory they can be a unique proposition. Keep clear as per most wildlife you encounter in your cruise. Despite once being on the endangered listing, as a result of safety of the Antarctic treaty, the Southern Elephant seal is now not in any rapid hazard. Due to Dr Mikolaj Golachowski for serving to put this collectively. Nevertheless, over-fishing of Antarctic waters and human activities might in the future see some points with their native habitat. Dr. Miko was a lecturer on-board our final PinkTarctica Antarctic expedition to the Peninsula and is a leading expert on Elephant seals and their behaviour. Dr. Mikolaj is a local of Poland, and was base commander of the Polish base on the Antarctic Peninsula for several seasons.