Sea elephant description for children. Sea Elephant. Elephant seal lifestyle and habitat

Your name sea Elephant received thanks to a process located above the oral cavity, which resembles a trunk. A trunk 30 cm long grows in males closer to eight years of age, in females the process is completely absent.

An interesting fact about the sea elephant is the property of the trunk to increase in size up to 60-80 cm during sexual arousal. Males shake their proboscis in front of competitors in the hope of scaring them.

Description and features of the sea elephant

Pro maritime elephants researchers have collected a large amount of information. On the photo of sea elephant resembles: the body of an animal is streamlined, the head is small in size with a trunk on which vibrissae are located (mustache with high sensitivity), the eyeballs are in the shape of a flattened oval and are painted in dark color, the limbs are replaced by flippers that are equipped with long claws reaching 5 cm.

Elephant seals are poorly adapted to life on land, because their obese body prevents them from moving: one step of a large animal is only about 35 cm. Because of their sluggishness, they bask on the shore and sleep almost all the time.

Pictured is a sea elephant

Their sleep is so strong that they even snore, biologists even managed to measure their temperature and heart rate during their rest. Another interesting fact about elephant seals is the ability of animals to sleep underwater.

This process occurs as follows: 5-10 minutes after falling asleep, the chest expands, as a result of which the density of the body decreases slightly and it slowly rises.

After the body is on the surface, the nostrils open and the elephant breathes for about 3 minutes, after this time it falls back into the water column. Eyes and nostrils during underwater recreation are in the closed position.

Sea elephant during sleep can dive under water and emerge

For people who first encounter this animal, the question arises: What does a sea elephant look like?? Male elephant seals are much larger than females. If the body length of the male is on average about 5-6 m, elephant seal weight- can reach 3 tons, the body length of females is only 2.5 - 3 m, weight - 900 kg. For this species of elephants, a characteristic gray thick fur.

Elephant seals living in are slightly larger than their northern relatives - weight is about 4 tons, length - 6 m, and their fur is colored brown. In water, animals move at a fairly high speed up to 23 km / h.

Pictured is a northern elephant seal

Elephant seal lifestyle and habitat

Elephant seals spend most of their time in their natural element, water. On land, they are selected only for mating and molting. The time of their stay on the surface of the earth does not exceed 3 months.

places, where sea elephants live depends on their type. Exists northern elephant seal living on the coasts of North America, and southern elephant seal whose residence is Antarctica.

Animals lead a solitary life, gather together only to conceive offspring. During their stay on land, elephant seals live on beaches strewn with pebbles or stones. The rookery of animals can number more than 1000 individuals. Elephant seals are calm, even a little phlegmatic animals.

Elephant seal food

Elephant seals feed on cephalopods and. According to some reports, the elephant seal, which is about 5 m long, eats 50 kg. fishes.

Due to its large physique, a lot of air is retained in a large volume of blood, which helps sea elephants dive to a depth of about 1400 meters in search of food.

During a deep dive under water, the activity of all important organs slows down in an animal - this process greatly reduces oxygen consumption - animals are able to retain air for up to two hours.

Elephant skin is thick and covered with coarse short hair. The animal has a lot of fat deposits, which are somewhat burned during the mating season, when they do not eat at all.

IN elephant seals antarctica go in the warm season in search of prey. During migration, they are able to overcome the path, the length of which is about 4800 km.

Reproduction and lifespan of the sea elephant

Males reach sexual maturity at 3-4 years of age. But at this age they mate very rarely, because they are not yet strong enough to defend the right to mate with other Scythians. Males acquire sufficient physical strength at the age of not earlier than eight years.

When the time of the mating season comes (and this time is from August to October for the southern elephant seal, February for gray elephant seal), animals gather in large groups, where from 10 to 20 females fall out for one male.

There are fierce battles between males for the right to have a harem in the center of the colony: males shake their short trunks, roar loudly and rush at the enemy in order to inflict as many injuries as possible with the help of sharp fangs.

Despite their large physique, in a fight, males can almost completely raise their body, remaining above the ground to stand on only one tail. Weak young males are forced to the edge of the colony, where the conditions for mating females are much worse.

After establishing the owner of the harem, already pregnant females give birth to cubs that were conceived in the previous year. Pregnancy lasts a little less than a year (11 months). The body length of a newborn cub is 1.2 m, weight - 50 kg.

The body of the cub is covered with soft brown fur, which sheds a month after birth. Brown fur changes to dark gray thick fur. After the birth of the offspring, the female brings up and feeds him with milk for a month, and then again mates with the male.

At the end of the month, the young live on the shore for a couple more weeks, while not eating anything, using the previously accumulated fat for consumption. The offspring goes into the water two months after birth.

And whites are the worst enemy for young elephant seals. Because mating sea elephants the process is quite intense (fights, "persuasion" of the female), most of the cubs die due to the fact that they are simply crushed.

The life expectancy of males is about 14 years, females - 18 years. This difference arises from the fact that males receive many serious injuries during competitions, which worsens their overall health. Often the injuries are so severe that the animals cannot recover from them and die.

Domain: eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: chordates

Class: mammals

Squad: Predatory

Family: real seals

Genus: sea elephants

Spreading

Large colonies of the southern elephant seal are located on the following subantarctic archipelagos and islands: South Georgia, Kerguelen, Hurd, Macquarie. Outside of the mating season, individuals can be found on the coasts of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Patagonia and Antarctica. These animals can cover sea distances up to 4,800 km.

The northern elephant seal used to be distributed along the entire western coast of North America from Alaska to Baja California. In the 19th century, however, the mass extermination of these animals began for the sake of extracting blubber. Every year, thousands of elephant seals became victims of hunters, and soon this species was already considered extinct. Only one small colony of less than a hundred individuals survived on the Mexican island of Guadalupe. After its discovery, northern elephant seals were taken under protection.

In the 1930s, elephant seals came out to mate on land in California's Channel Islands. Currently, northern elephant seals are found on many islands located along the western coast of the continent. In the north, their range reaches the Farallon Islands, and outside the mating season even to Vancouver Island.

The population increases by 15% every year and today this species is no longer seriously threatened. However, the fact that the number of northern elephant seals has passed through a bottleneck has led to an extremely low genetic diversity of living individuals, which can become a serious problem under changing environmental conditions.

Description

Elephant seals (Mirounga) are the largest genus in the family of true seals, a class of mammals. There are two types of elephant seals, named according to the hemisphere in which they live.

The oldest confirmed fossils of these animals date back to the Pliocene era and were found in New Zealand. Only the adult male has a large trunk similar to that of an elephant. The male uses it to roar during the mating season. Southern elephant seals are slightly larger than northern ones. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced, males of both species are much larger than females. The average weight of an adult male of the southern species can be 3000 kg, and the body length can reach 5 m. An adult female weighs about 900 kg, and her body length is approximately 3 m. The color of the animal depends on sex, age and season. It can be rusty, light or dark brown, or gray in color. The elephant seal has a large body, short toed front flippers, and webbed rear flippers. Under the skin is a thick layer of fat that protects the animal in a cold environment. Every year, elephant seals molt. Average life expectancy is 20 to 22 years.

Kinds

There are two types of elephant seals: Southern and Northern. The northern elephant seal reaches large sizes, its body length reaches five meters, and its weight is up to three and a half tons. Females in weight and size are much inferior to males: weight up to 900 kilograms, body length up to three meters. The color of such elephant seals is gray. They live on the Californian and Mexican islands and on the island of Guadeloupe. Offspring are born in January. Southern elephant seals are brown and slightly smaller than their counterparts. They live in the waters of Antarctica, and bring offspring in October.

northern elephant seal

northern elephant seal(Mirounga angustirostris) is a species of pinniped mammal from the family True seals. The size of the male northern elephant seal reaches 6 m, and the females - more than 3 m. The name of this marine animal was given for its large size and nose, which can swell and then resemble a folded trunk.

Males are very different from females - they are almost twice as large, and in the breeding season they often puff their noses to appear larger.

This huge pinniped - northern elephant seal - is found on the Pacific coast of America from Alaska to Hudson Bay.

The northern elephant seal feeds on small sharks, fish, and squid. Elephant seals come out in December and January so that the females can produce offspring. Males are the first to come ashore and defend the territory for their harem. Elephant seals form dense colonies on the shore. There is always one baby in a litter of elephant seals. It is covered in black fur and stays ashore for almost five months.

southern elephant seal

The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) is the largest seal species in the world. The trunk of the southern elephant seal is much shorter than that of the northern counterpart: its length is about 10 cm. This huge, enlarged nose is absent in females and young males. After constant growth, the trunk reaches full size by the eighth year of life and hangs over the mouth with the nostrils down. During the mating season, this trunk swells even more due to the increased rush of blood. It happens that during fights, more aggressive male billhooks tear each other's trunks to shreds. Differences in size between males and females are significant. The male can reach sizes up to six and a half meters, and the female only three and a half meters. The weight of the male is up to three and a half tons, the female weighs a maximum of 900 kg.

Elephant seals prey on fish and cephalopods. Elephant seals are able to dive for prey to a depth of 1400 m. This is possible due to their large mass and large blood volume, which can store a lot of oxygen. As with whales, the activity of the internal organs of elephant seals slows down during diving to a depth, which reduces the consumption of oxygen. The natural enemies of elephant seals are white sharks and killer whales, hunting in the upper layers of the water.

Lifestyle

Elephant seals spend most of their lives underwater, feeding on fish and shellfish. They are able to dive to a depth of about 1400 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 killer whales and white sharks, which lie in wait for 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 a new one. For three whole months, huge colonies fill the coastal zones. Two or three dozen females give birth to babies under the auspices of one male.

Fierce battles are fought for harems, in which opponents are capable of inflicting serious wounds on each other. Every year, additional scars appear on the body of the strongest and largest males.

Interestingly, outwardly clumsy and clumsy elephant seals literally change before our eyes during fights. Sometimes they even straighten up to their full gigantic height and, vigorously swinging their straightened trunk and back of the body, make amazing pirouettes.

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

In harems, their own family life is seething. Each "wife" gives birth to one cub, about 80 cm long and weighing 20 kg. The mother feeds him with nutritious milk for 4-5 weeks, after which he must take care of himself. After leaving it, he stays on the shore for another month, extracting nutrients from the fat layer. During this period, molting occurs, after which the baby goes on his first voyage.

The female is ready for a new fertilization about a month after giving birth. Her pregnancy will last a long 11 months. Having conceived, she fattens a little in the sea, and then fits into the post-nuptial molt. Mature males are the last to molt.

Interestingly, during this period, animals of all ages relax so much that you can come close to them. The body of the seals resembles a spreading jelly, they absolutely do not pay attention to what is happening around. Having finished their "land" business, elephant seals go to the ocean.

Elephant seal food

Elephant seals feed on fish and cephalopods that are caught in the open sea. Recent studies on the coast of California, which measured the depth of immersion of animals, showed that elephant seals are able to dive to a depth of 1,000 m. They feed on marine animals, octopuses and even small sharks. Elephant seals have rather long fangs protruding from the gums by about four centimeters; molars are poorly developed, so they prefer soft-bodied prey that does not require thorough chewing.

Reproduction and lifespan

Immediately after the molt, the time of love comes in the life of elephants. From the middle of winter to the middle of spring, elephants fight, then breed, and put future offspring on their feet.

It all starts with the elephants sliding onto the shore. The female, being pregnant, since last year. After all, they have eleven months in this period. Male elephants have nothing to do with raising offspring.

Having found a quiet, inconspicuous place for herself, the mother gives birth to only one cub. He is born a meter tall, and weighing up to forty kilograms. For a whole month, the mother elephant feeds the child only with her own milk. It is among the representatives of these individuals, the most high-calorie. Its fat content is fifty percent. The child during feeding, gains weight well. After that, the mother leaves her child forever.

The offspring formed a sufficient layer of subcutaneous fat so that they could survive in the next adaptive, independent month of their lives. At the age of three months, children leave the haulouts and go to open waters.

As soon as the female moves away from her child, a period of mating battles begins without rules. The largest and oldest elephants fight not for life, but for death, for the right to become the sultan of their harem.

Elephants roar loudly at each other, inflate their trunks and swing them, in the hope that this will frighten the rival. Then powerful, sharp teeth come into play. The winner collects the ladies near him. Some have harems of three hundred females. And the victim, and all wounded, goes to the edge of the rookery. All the same, he finds a soul mate for himself, without having the authority of a hipper male. It is unfortunate, but during such fights, very often they suffer, and little children die, simply not noticing them in battle, they are trampled by adults.

Having gathered his women, the leader chooses a passion for himself, menacingly placing his front flipper on her back. So he shows superiority over her. And if the lady is not disposed to the meeting, the male does not care about such a circumstance. He climbs with all his tons onto her back. Here already resistance is useless.

The sexually mature period begins, in the younger generation, by the age of four in males. Females, from the age of two, are ready for mating. For ten years, female elephant seals can give birth to children. Then they get old. Elephant seals die at the age of fifteen or twenty.

The amazing ability of elephant seals is to sleep underwater. But how do animals manage to breathe at this time? After all, they have lungs, not gills! .. Scientists managed to find out the secret of such underwater sleep. After a five- or ten-minute stay under water, the chest of the animal expands, while the nostrils remain tightly closed. From this, the density of the body decreases, and it floats. At the surface of the water, the nostrils open, and for about three minutes the animal inhales air. Then it sinks to the bottom again. The eyes remain closed all this time: the elephant is clearly asleep.
Stones are usually found in the stomach of the elephant seal. Residents of the places where these animals live, believe that the stones serve as ballast during the immersion of elephants under water. There are other explanations as well. For example, stones in the stomach can contribute to the grinding of food - whole swallowed fish and crustaceans.
Among the males, four groups can be clearly distinguished. The first - "teenage" - includes animals aged from one to six years, their size does not exceed three meters. They appear on the rookery in winter, especially after storms, with the clear purpose of taking a break from swimming. These animals are the earliest to molt - in December (the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere), and then all other animals appear in order of seniority: the older, the later. The second, or “youthful”, group is formed by animals aged from six to thirteen years, their sizes are from three to four and a half meters. They come to the beach in the fall, shortly after the females have cubs, but they do not fight with older males and, even before the start of the rut (after weaning the cubs), they swim into the sea. The next age group is the so-called applicants. Such males, ranging in size from four and a half to six meters, with a proudly swollen trunk, are in a constantly aggressive mood and climb to fight with the owners of the rookery - the owners of "harems" - powerful old males, trying to beat off some of the females from them. These old experienced males make up the fourth age group.
Observations have shown that the same old and strong male dominates the "harem" during the entire breeding season, and younger and weaker males are often forced to give up their place to a rival superior in strength to them. Although the fights of males are usually played out in the water, not far from the coast, panic also begins on the beach at this time - alarmed females scream, cubs try to escape. Therefore, from "harems", where they are disturbed too often, females try to move to calmer "harems".
The fight of males is an impressive sight. Rivals, having swum up to each other, rise “on their hind legs”, towering four meters above the shallow water, and freeze in this position for several minutes, resembling stone statues of monsters. Animals emit a dull roar, their trunks swell menacingly, irrigating the enemy with a cascade of spray. After such a presentation, the weaker enemy usually retreats backwards, continuing to roar menacingly, and, having moved to a safe distance, takes to his heels. The winner, on the other hand, lets out a proud cry and, having made several false throws in pursuit of the fugitive, calms down and returns to the beach.
No matter how intimidating such a battle may look from the outside, in most cases it does not come to serious bloodshed. Usually everything is limited to mutual intimidation, frightening roar and sniffling. The biological meaning of such behavior is clear: the strongest is revealed, who will take over the functions of the producer during the mating season and, as the successor of the family, will pass on his positive qualities to the offspring. At the same time, the weaker young male does not die on the battlefield and is thus not excluded from the further process of reproduction of the species.
In relation to humans, tall males do not always show aggressiveness. And not they, but just the females can be the most dangerous for the researcher who dared to penetrate into the very thick of the herd. John Varham, for example, more than once had to get acquainted with their sharp teeth and shamefully run away, leaving a good piece of his trouser leg to the angry sea elephant.
Having been born, the cub emits a short bark, reminiscent of a dog, the mother responds to him in the same way, sniffs him and thus remembers. Subsequently, she will unmistakably distinguish him among many other cubs and will be able to return if he makes an attempt to escape.
One of the most amazing adaptations of the animal organism to the conditions of existence should be mentioned: the development of the embryo in the womb of the female is suspended for the duration of the molt, and the embryo is, as it were, "preserved" for the entire unfavorable period of the animal's life. (A similar phenomenon is observed in some other animals - many pinnipeds, as well as in sable, rabbit, kangaroo, etc.) The development of the embryo continues only in March, when the molt in females is already over.
The appearance of a molting elephant seal is the most deplorable: the old skin hangs on it in torn rags. First, she gets off the muzzle, and then from the rest of the body. At the same time, the poor fellows scratch their sides and stomach with flippers, trying to speed up this process, which is clearly unpleasant for them. Moulting animals are usually located in some moss-covered swamp, not far from the coast, and, restlessly tossing and turning, stir up loose soil, turning it into a dirty mess. In it, they are immersed to the very nostrils. The stench around is terrifying at this time.

Video

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 the newborn offspring of which is determined by the water temperature and general weather conditions.

Description of the sea elephant

Elephant seal fossils date back hundreds of years. The animals got their name because of a small process in the area of the muzzle, outwardly very reminiscent of an elephant's trunk. Although only males “wear” such a distinctive feature. The muzzle of the females is smooth with the usual 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 in the process of 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, causing discomfort to the animal. Before everything is over and his body is covered with new fur, a lot of time will pass, the animal will lose weight, become emaciated and haggard. After the end of the molt, the elephant seals return to the water again to gain fat and replenish their 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 pronounced. 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, on the other hand, hardly reaches 900 kilograms and is about 3 meters tall. There are at least 33 species of pinnipeds, and so elephant seals are the largest of all.

The color of an animal's coat depends on various factors, including the sex of the animal, species, age and season. Depending on them, the coat may have reddish hues, light or dark brown or gray. Basically, the females are slightly darker than the males, their coat is close to the earthy color scheme. Males predominantly wear mouse-colored fur. From afar, 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 paws of the animal are replaced by flippers, convenient for fast movement in the water. At the ends of the front flippers 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 completely replace the 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.

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 swimmer diver, reaching speeds of up to 10-15 kilometers per hour. These are massive animals leading a predominantly solitary lifestyle in the water. Only once a year they gather in colonies for breeding and molting.

How long does a sea elephant live

Elephant seals live from 20 to 22 years, while the northern elephant seal most often lives only 9 years. At the same time, females live an order of magnitude longer than males. It's all the fault of the multiple injuries received by the male in fights for the championship.

sexual dimorphism

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

Only the adult male has a large trunk resembling that of an elephant. 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 for several kilometers. It also functions as a moisture absorbing filter. During the mating season, elephant seals do not leave the territory of the land, so the water conservation feature is quite useful.

Females are an order of magnitude darker than males. They are most often brownish in color with highlights around the neck. Such spots remain from the endless bites of males during the mating process. The size of the male varies between 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.

Types of elephant seals

There are two separate types 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 out onto the shores for molting and performing the function of reproduction.

Range, habitats

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

Elephant seal diet

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

The males hunt at the bottom, while the females go out to search for food in the open ocean. 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 dissecting the belly of captured elephant seals, many squids were found. Less often, the menu includes fish or some types of crustaceans.

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

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

Reproduction and offspring

Elephant seals are solitary animals. They come together only for periods of molting and breeding, on land. Every winter they return to their original breeding colonies. Female elephant seals reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 to 6 years, and males at the age of 5 to 6 years. However, this does not mean that a male who has reached this age will begin to participate in reproduction. For this, he is not yet considered strong enough, 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 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 commonplace. The harem of one Alpha male ranges from 30 to 100 females.

Other males are forced to the outskirts of the colony, sometimes mating with slightly less "quality" females before the alpha male drives them off. Males, despite the distribution of "ladies" that have already taken place, continue to remain on land for the entire period, defending the occupied territories in the struggle. Unfortunately, during such fights, females are often injured and recently born cubs die. After all, during the battle, a huge, six-ton animal rises to the height of its own growth and falls on the enemy with unthinkable force, destroying everything that is in its path.

The annual breeding cycle of the northern elephant seal 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. The competition for dominance is extremely intense. Males establish dominance through looks, gestures, all kinds of snorts and grunts, amplifying their volume with the help of their own trunk. Spectacular fights end with a lot of mutilations and injuries left by the fangs of the opponent.

2-5 days after the female stays on land, she gives birth to a baby. After the birth of a baby elephant seal, for some time the mother feeds him with milk. Such food, excreted by the body of the female, is about 12% fat. After a couple of weeks, this number increases to more than 50%, acquiring a liquid jelly-like consistency. For comparison, cow's milk has 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 weaned from their mother and set off on their own voyage, the female mates again with the dominant male and returns to the sea.

For a further four to six weeks, the babies diligently practice swimming and diving before leaving the shore where they were born to spend the next six months at sea. Despite the fat reserve that allows them to be without food for a long time, the mortality of babies during this period is extremely high. For about another six months, they will walk on a thin line, since it is at 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 cub is born. Therefore, females arrive at the breeding site already "on demolition", after last year's mating. Then they give birth and get down to business again. Mothers do not eat for a whole month, which is necessary for feeding the 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 can die as a result of numerous fights of males for leadership.

In nature, there are many mammals that we see only on TV. And if you think about it, in fact, we know absolutely nothing about them. How do they live and where. In what conditions and what do they eat. How they reproduce and raise their offspring. And most importantly, whether they are threatened by anything.

Description and features of the sea elephant

Sea Elephant, absolutely nothing to do with the land elephant. Their only gender similarity is that at the sea, at the end of the muzzle, a thirty-centimeter thick process hangs down, supposedly resembling an elephant's trunk.

A mammal belonging to the earless seal family. Although some experts in science, zoologists, have long denied this theory. And they claim that their distant ancestor, oddly enough, is a badger and a marten. Elephant seals are huge in size, although they are mammals, they are predators.

They live in the north of the American continent and in the Antarctic region. IN elephant seal antarctica hit hiding from poachers. Inhabitants of the subarctic and subantarctic seas.

These representatives, Northern and Southern Elephant Seals, many similar in appearance to each other. northern elephant seals slightly larger than their southern relatives. Their nose, unlike southern elephants, is thinner and longer.

In the seal family, the elephant seal is their largest representative. After all, its size is impressive. males sea elephant weigh up to four tons are northern, and southern three-ton. They are five to six meters tall.

Their females look like small fragile inches, against the background of their men. They don't even weigh a ton. Within eight hundred nine hundred kilograms. Well, and, accordingly, half as long, only two and a half, three meters.

Males and females also differ in fur color. In males, it has a mouse color scheme. And the females are dressed in darker tones, like earthen ones. Their fur coat itself consists of short, very thick and hard villi.

But from a distance, it looks very nice. Like plush giants crawling out of the depths of the sea. What can not be said about the molting period. Half of winter, the animal is on the shore.

His skin is covered with blisters, and peels off in whole layers. During everything maritime elephants they do not eat anything, resting in suffering on the coastal pebbles. Since the process is quite painful and unpleasant.

The animal loses weight and weakens. But changing clothes What does a sea elephant look like? one glance. With all my strength, already faded, gray elephant seals rush to the sea to recuperate and replenish their belly.

Male mammals have a big difference from their women, the presence of the so-called trunk. Photos of sea elephants show that it hangs on the very edge of the muzzle, covering the mouth.

It all consists of large mounds, as if stones of cobblestones were hidden there. The females do not have it at all. They have cute little faces, like plush giant toys. On the nose there are small hard, very sensitive antennae.

Interesting facts about sea elephants is that during the mating season, the male trunk swells. Blood flows to it, muscles begin to contract, and from a thirty-centimeter process, something half a meter or more appears.

The head of these animals is small in size, smoothly flowing into the body. It has small, dark olive eyes. The skin on the neck of elephant seals is very tough and rough. She protects the animal from bites during mating duels.

Their huge body ends in a large, forked tail like a fish. And in front, instead of limbs, there are two fins with large claws.

Elephant seal lifestyle and habitat

So where do sea elephants live? Northern pinnipeds, permanent residents of Californian and Mexican waters. Even, a hundred years ago, they were on the verge of extinction.

The number of their individuals was no more than a hundred animals. They were barbarously killed, stabbed with spears, for the sake of valuable animal fat. In elephants, it served as a protective fifteen-centimeter layer from icy water.

In the same place where they were destroyed, this fat was melted. Its quantity reached millions of kilograms, this is how many thousands of individuals had to be destroyed. Until now, reminiscent of bitter times, vessels covered with algae, bird droppings and rust are lying on the shores.

Activists fought hard to save their population. What can not be said about sea cows that have disappeared due to poaching. And already in the fifties, the last century, they bred up to fifteen thousand individuals.

The southern mammal suffered the same fate, they had to flee, settling on the hard-to-reach islands of southern Georgia, Marion. So on Macquare and Heard Island there are a couple of animal rookeries.

The number of individuals in one rookery is in the tens of thousands. The Argentine peninsulas were made protected areas, and for the past fifty years, any animal hunting has been prohibited.

And already, in the sixties, biologists began to study sea elephants. Despite their huge parameters, these animals feel great in the water. They are excellent swimmers, reaching speeds of twenty kilometers per hour.

What kind of divers are they? After all, the elephant, the first after the whales, will be able to dive for prey to a depth of up to two kilometers. Diving, his nostrils close.

And this is only known about sea elephants they control their circulation. Plunging deeper and deeper, the blood begins to flow only to the heart and brain, without any harm to the animal.

What can not be said about the time spent on land. In my opinion, this is a whole test for a mammal. Crawling ashore, he hardly moves in the direction he needs. The length of his step, a little over thirty centimeters.

Therefore, having coped with their affairs on the shore, the elephant gets tired very quickly. And the first thing that comes to his mind is to sleep urgently. Moreover, their sleep is so strong, and the snoring is so loud that scientists even repeatedly managed, without any fear for their lives, to calculate the frequency of their breathing, listen to the pulse and take a cardiogram of the heart.

They have another unique ability. Incredibly, elephants sleep underwater too. Plunging deep into the water, their nostrils close. And for fifteen to twenty minutes the animal sleeps peacefully.

Then the lungs expand, the body inflates like a balloon, and the pinniped floats to the surface. The nostrils open, the animal breathes for five minutes, then again dives into the depths. This is how he sleeps.

Elephant seal food

Since the sea elephant is a predatory mammal. And his main diet consists of fish. Also squid, crayfish and crabs. An adult can eat half a centner of fish per day. To taste, they are more like shark meat and stingray flesh.

Very often, pebbles are found in the stomachs of elephant seals. Some believe that it is needed for ballast, when the elephant is immersed in water. Others, on the contrary, suggest that the stones contribute to grinding, wholly swallowed crustaceans.

But when the mating season begins in animals, molting, then the elephants do not eat anything for months, existing solely on the reserves of fat that they have built up during the fattening period.

Reproduction and lifespan

Immediately after the molt, the time of love comes in the life of elephants. From the middle of winter to the middle of spring, elephants fight, then breed, and put future offspring on their feet.

It is among the representatives of these individuals, the most high-calorie. Its fat content is fifty percent. The child during feeding, gains weight well. After that, the mother leaves her child forever.

And the victim, and all wounded, goes to the edge of the rookery. He still finds his soul mate, not having the authority of a hyper-male. It is unfortunate, but during such fights, very often they suffer, and little children die, simply not noticing them in battle, they are trampled by adults.

Despite their impressive size, elephant seals also become prey for killer whales. The sea leopard pursues still fragile children. But the most terrible enemies, for many centuries, no matter how scary it sounds, we are people.

Thoughtless human activity almost ruined one of the curious species of animals - the sea elephant. They got their name not only for their huge size (these animals but also for a kind of 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 amplifying the sound of the roar.He also shows the surrounding relatives how formidable and powerful his master is.

Description

The elephant seal belongs to the pinnipeds, a family of true seals. They surpass even walruses in size and are the largest in their class of predators. They are distinguished by heavy build, very coarse skin, covered with fur. Fat can be up to 30% of an elephant's live weight. Sexual dimorphism is very pronounced - 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 dives perfectly, can hold its breath for up to 2 hours and descend to a depth of almost two kilometers. The speed of its movement in water is up to 23 km / h. They feed on fish, mollusks, plankton, and cephalopods. Among the main enemies (except humans) are killer whales and large sharks. No one threatens them on the shore, so they are very careless and can afford to sleep soundly, often with loud snoring. On land, they move with difficulty, pulling their carcass up on their front flippers. For one such "throw" animals cover a distance of no more than 35 cm.

Females reach sexual maturity by 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 places of the rookery and occupy parts of the beach. Then the females pull themselves up and, entering the “conquered” territory, automatically become members of the harem. There are sometimes up to 50 females per elephant (usually within 20). Fights for females can be very violent. During a tense duel, the elephant seal rises to its full gigantic height, keeping the body in an upright position on one tail. Young males (up to 8 years old) usually live on the periphery of the haulout and do not try to argue with the harem owners.

Pregnancy lasts 11 months. Usually, childbirth begins in females 5-6 days after arrival 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. A month later they move to the outskirts of the haulout and after molting, at the age of 3-4 months, they go to the sea. Females after feeding babies are ready for mating.

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 separation between haulouts. Some are used as "maternity wards", others a few hundred kilometers away - for feeding. Islands - breeding grounds:

Kerguelen.
Campbell.
Crozet.
Macquarie.
Morion.
Fire Earth.
Auckland.
Prince Edward.
Falkland.
Hurd.
South Georgia.
South Orkney.
Southern Sandwiches.
South Shetland.

The mating season is September-November. To date, the total number of animals is up to 700,000 heads.

Northern

The northern relative in style of life differs little. Mating takes place in February. It has permanent rookeries, where the sea elephant swims for breeding and for the molting period. The mainland (west coast of North America) from Mexico to Canada with pebble beaches or gently sloping rocky shores has long been chosen by water giants. It is inferior in size to its southern brother, males grow up to 5 meters, their weight fluctuates within 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 took the brunt of the extermination. After tough measures to ban fishing, their population has grown to 15 thousand individuals today. Not bad at all, considering there were about a hundred of them left.