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Elephant seals or sea elephants are very large, oceangoing in the genus Mirounga. Both species, the northern elephant seal ( M. angustirostris) and the southern elephant seal ( M. leonina), were hunted to the brink of extinction for lamp oil by the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have since recovered. They can weigh up to . Despite their name, elephant seals are not closely related to , and the large proboscis or Elephant trunk that males of the species possess is an example of convergent evolution.
The northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The most northerly breeding location on the Pacific Coast is at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The southern elephant seal is found in the Southern Hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia and Macquarie Island, and on the coasts of New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdés. In southern Chile, there is a small colony of 120 animals at Jackson Bay ( Bahía Jackson) in Admiralty Sound ( Seno Almirantazgo) on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.
The oldest known unambiguous elephant seal fossils are fragmentary fossils of a member of the tribe Miroungini described from the late Pliocene Petane Formation of New Zealand. Teeth originally identified as representing an unnamed species of Mirounga have been found in South Africa, and dated to the Miocene epoch; however, Boessenecker and Churchill (2016) considered these teeth almost certainly to be misidentified toothed whale (odontocete) teeth. The elephant seals evolved in the Pacific Ocean during the Pliocene period.
Elephant seals breed annually and are seemingly habitual to colonies that have established breeding areas.
Elephant seals spend the majority of their life (90%) underwater in search of food, and can cover a day when they head out to sea. When elephant seals are born, they can weigh up to and reach lengths up to . Sexual dimorphism is extreme, with male elephant seals weighing up to 10 times more than females, and having a prominent proboscis.
Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult male (bull), reminiscent of an elephant's trunk, and considered a secondary sexual characteristic. The bull's proboscis is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. More importantly, however, the nose acts as a sort of rebreather, filled with cavities that reabsorb moisture from their exhalations. This is important during the mating season when the seals do not leave the beach to feed, and must conserve body moisture as there is no incoming source of water.
They are very much larger than other , with southern elephant seal bulls typically reaching a length of and a weight of , and are much larger than the adult females (cows), with some exceptionally large males reaching up to in length and weighing ; cows typically measure about and . Northern elephant seal bulls reach a length of and the heaviest weigh about .
The northern and southern elephant seal can be distinguished by various external features. On average, the southern elephant seal tends to be larger than the northern species. Adult male elephant seals belonging to the northern species tend to have a larger proboscis, and thick chest area with a red coloration compared to the southern species. Females do not have the large proboscis and can be distinguished between species by looking at their nose characteristics. Southern females tend to have a smaller, blunt nose compared to northern females.
Elephant seals are shielded from extreme cold more by their blubber than by fur. Their hair and outer layers of skin molting in large patches. The skin has to be regrown by blood vessels reaching through the blubber. When molting occurs, the seal is susceptible to the cold, and must rest on land, in a safe place called a "Hauling-out". Northern males and young adults haul out during June to July to molt; northern females and immature seals during April to May.
Elephant seals have a very large volume of blood, allowing them to hold a large amount of oxygen for use when diving. They have large sinuses in their abdomens to hold blood and can also store oxygen in their muscles with increased myoglobin concentrations in muscle. In addition, they have a larger proportion of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. These adaptations allow elephant seals to dive to such depths and remain underwater for up to two hours.
Unlike some other marine mammals, such as dolphins, elephant seals do not have unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. Instead they sleep deeply for a little less than 20 minutes at the time while sinking through the water to depths measured up to 377 meters. When being near the continental shelf, where the ocean is less deep, they will often reach bottom, which sometimes wakes them up. But more often they continue to sleep on the seabed. On average, they get about two hours of sleep a day over a period of seven months, which is among the lowest amount of sleep of any mammal. Sleeping elephant seals fall through ocean's depths, and some even nap on the sea floor
They are able to slow down their heartbeat (bradycardia) and divert blood flow from the external areas of the body to important core organs. They can also slow down their metabolism while performing deep dives.
Elephant seals have a helpful feature in their bodies known as the Rete mirabile to help conserve energy and prevent heat loss. In this system, Artery and are organized in a way to maintain a constant body temperature by having the cool blood flowing to the heart warmed by blood going to external areas of the animal.
Milk produced by elephant seals is remarkably high in milkfat compared to other mammals. After an initially lower state, it rises to over 50% milkfat (human breast milk is about 4% milkfat, and cow milk is about 3.5% milkfat).
Their body is covered in blubber, which helps them keep warm and reduce drag while they are swimming. The shape of their body also helps them maneuver well in the water, but limits their movement on land. Also, elephant seals have the ability to fast for long periods of time while breeding or molting. The turbinate process, another unique adaptation, is very beneficial when these seals are fasting, breeding, molting, or hauling out. This unique nasal structure recycles moisture when they breathe and helps prevent water loss.
Elephant seals have external whiskers called vibrissae to help them locate prey and navigate their environment. The vibrissae are connected to blood vessels, nerves, and muscles making them an important sensing tool.
Due to evolutionary changes, their ear has been modified to work extremely well underwater. The structure of the inner ear helps amplify incoming sounds, and allows these seals to have good directional hearing due to the isolation of the inner ear. In addition to these adaptations, tissues in the ear canal allow the pressure in the ear to be adjusted while these seals perform their deep dives.
By the time females arrive, each dominating male has already established his territory on the beach. Females cluster in groups called harems, which consist of up to 50 females surrounding one alpha male. Outside of these groups, a beta bull is normally roaming around on the beach. The beta bull helps the alpha by preventing other males accessing the females. In return, the beta bull might have an opportunity to mate with one of the females while the alpha is occupied.
Birth on average only takes a few minutes, and the mother and pup have a connection due to each other's unique smell and sound. The mothers will fast and nurse up to 28 days, providing their pups with rich milk. The last two to three days, however, females will be ready to mate, and the dominant males will pounce on the opportunity. Males and females lose up to a third of their body weight during the breeding season. The gestation period for females is 11 months, and the pupping seasons lasts from mid to late summer. The new pups will spend up to 10 additional weeks on land learning how to swim and dive.
Females begin breeding at age 3–6, and have one pup per breeding attempt. Most adult females breed each year. Breeding success is much lower for first-time mothers relative to experienced breeders. Annual survival probability of adult females is 0.83 for experienced breeding females, but only 0.66 for first-time breeders indicating a significant cost of reproduction. More male pups are produced than female pups in years with warmer sea surface temperature in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
Females and males utilize different feeding strategies in order to maximize their reproductive success. Males feed in Benthic zone regions with more abundant food sources, but also more abundant predators. Females feed in Pelagic zone regions where they are less likely to find prey, but also less likely to be preyed upon. They employ these different strategies because females are smaller, requiring less food, and it is also most important for them to have as many breeding seasons as possible in order to maximize reproductive success. On the other hand, males can adopt a riskier strategy in the hopes of gaining as much mass as possible, and thus being able to have one extremely successful breeding season.
File:Pink Tongue Elephant Seal Photo by Sascha Grabow.jpg|Southern elephant seal
File:Elephant seals piedras blancas.jpg|Northern elephant seals on Piedras Blancas beach, near [[San Simeon]], California
File:Male,_female_and_pup_Mirounga_angustirostris_10.jpg|Northern elephant seal male, female and pup
File:Elephant seal colony edit.jpg|Northern elephant seals during molting season at Piedras Blancas beach, near San Simeon, [[California]]
File:Elephant_seals_fighting.jpg|Two northern elephant seal bulls fighting
File:An elephant seal from NOAA.jpg|Male northern elephant seal [[snout]]
File:Mirounga leonina.jpg|Juvenile southern elephant seal
File:MacquarieIslandElephantSeal.JPG|Dominant southern elephant seal bulls fighting at [[Macquarie Island]]
File:Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas, California.jpg|Northern elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, [[California]]
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