Elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are large, oceangoing mammals in the family Phocidae. The name “elephant seal” comes from their great size and from the males’ large proboscises, which resemble an elephant’s trunk. Elephant seals live in cold waters off the coasts of Antarctica, Chile, Namibia, and California. They spend most of their time at sea, but come ashore to breed.
Males elephant seals can reach a length of 20 ft (6 m) and weigh up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg). Females are much smaller, reaching only 10-12 ft (3-4 m) in length and 1,000-2,000 lb (450-900 kg) in weight. Both sexes have external ear flaps and long front flippers. The rear flippers are very small and cannot be used for locomotion on land. The skin is black or dark brown with light spots on the belly.
Elephant seals eat squid, fish, krill, and other small crustaceans. They hunt by swimming after their prey using their powerful front flippers for propulsion. To catch food near the surface of the water they use suction feeding; they open their mouths wide and suck in water along with any animals that happen to be nearby.
Mating occurs between December and February on beaches where male elephant seals establish harems of as many as 100 females each year. After a gestation period of 11 months, a single pup is born weighing about 150 lb (70 kg). Pups grow rapidly on their mothers’ milk which is 35% fat; they wean after 4 to 6 weeks but may remain with their mothers for several months longer before leaving to fend for themselves at sea where they join groups of other young males (“beach masters”). Females give birth every 2 or 3 years thereafter until they reach an age of 15-20 years old; males do not begin breeding until 5-10 years old when they attain enough size to successfully compete with other bulls for access to females during the breeding season (“the rut”).
Elephant seals were once hunted extensively for oil derived from blubber; this practice ended in 1909 when it was determined that there were only 50,000 animals remaining worldwide . Since then populations have recovered somewhat; there are now an estimated 200,000 individuals living in various rookeries around the world . However numbers are still low relative to what existed prior to hunting , so these animals remain categorized as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List .