10 Details About Elephant Seals - Chimu Adventures Blog

Elephant seals in Antarctica are a fantastic sight to behold on any journey to Antarctica and one of many region’s most unique and recognisable species. One in all our favourite species is the Elephant Seal, listed here are some enjoyable info about these magnificent creatures and the environment they inhabit. An Antarctic cruise is an icy safari, with many alternative 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 around 50 kilograms. Inside 3 months they'll 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 feminine Elephant seal is 9 months. Elephant seals are extremely social animals and form massive groups or harems for a month during the breeding season. Elephants seals are amongst the largest carnivores on the planet eating squid and fish as the primary sources of food in their weight loss plan, and have been measured diving up to as much as 2000m deep and may hold breath for up to two hours! Sexual dimorphism is a bodily distinction between the male and female of a species. Males may be up to 10 instances the weight of reproductive females. Elephant seals can be found throughout the Antarctic region, however are most prevalent around the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. They were hunted for his or her blubber throughout the sealing days. Solely 2 - 3 % of male Elephant seals really breed. London alone used 20,000 tonnes of elephant seal oil to gentle the town a 12 months. These animals have grown from a small group of animals, and do lack genetic variety, so there are nonetheless issues over the long run of those animals. Nonetheless, from a small group of animals left, there at the moment are an estimated inhabitants of 150,000 which live mainly across the Baja Gulf in Mexico and on the shores of Southern California, USA. Their major predator is the Orca, and in the northern most part of their vary.. Giant sharks. Leopard seals have additionally been identified to assault and kill stray young. They're called elephant seals resulting from various causes, partly because of their dimension and in addition partly due to the male snout or trunk that inflates to impress and intimidate rivals when competing with different males for his harem. The depth and volume 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. Enjoy the majestic Elephant seal on a cruise to Antarctica, however keep your distance - despite their dimension they can transfer fast on land, and are highly aggressive when defending their territory and younger. Generally they are not 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 on your cruise. Regardless of as soon as being on the endangered listing, due to the safety of the Antarctic treaty, the Southern Elephant seal is now not in any speedy hazard. Due to Dr Mikolaj Golachowski for baby elephant stuffed animals helping put this together. However, over-fishing of Antarctic waters and human activities may sooner or later 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 number one knowledgeable 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.