10 details about elephant seals chimu adventures weblog

Elephant seals in Antarctica are a unbelievable sight to behold on any journey to Antarctica and one of the region’s most unique and recognisable species. Certainly one of our favorite species is the Elephant Seal, listed below are some enjoyable details about these magnificent creatures and the atmosphere they inhabit. An Antarctic cruise is an icy safari, with many various species of animals to observe. Females are smaller and weigh around 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. Within three months they are going to weigh 150kg! Pups are usually born from September to October when their mothers come ashore at their berthing beaches around the continent. The gestation period for a female Elephant seal is 9 months. Elephant seals are highly social animals and kind massive groups or harems for a month in the course of the breeding season. Elephants seals are amongst the most important carnivores on the earth eating squid and fish as the primary sources of food of their food plan, and have been measured diving up to as much as 2000m deep and may hold stuffed elephants breath for up to two hours! Sexual dimorphism is a bodily difference between the male and female of a species. Males may be up to 10 occasions the weight of reproductive females. Elephant seals may be discovered throughout the Antarctic area, however are most prevalent across the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. They have been hunted for his or her blubber during the sealing days. Solely 2 – three % of male Elephant seals truly breed. London alone used 20,000 tonnes of elephant seal oil to mild the city a 12 months. These animals have grown from a small group of animals, and do lack genetic variety, so there are nonetheless considerations over the future of those animals. Nonetheless, from a small group of animals left, there at the moment are an estimated inhabitants of 150,000 which reside mainly across the Baja Gulf in Mexico and on the shores of Southern California, USA. Their fundamental predator is the Orca, and in the northern most part of their vary.. Large sharks. Leopard seals have also been identified to assault and kill stray younger. They're referred to as elephant seals due to quite a few reasons, partly due to 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 quantity of the sound is a demonstration to others how highly effective 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, but keep your distance – regardless of their measurement they will move fast on land, and are extremely aggressive when defending their territory and young. Typically they don't seem to be afraid of man, nevertheless if disturbed whereas resting, reproducing or marking territory they are often a different proposition. Keep clear as per most wildlife you encounter in your cruise. Despite once being on the endangered list, 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 helping put this together. However, over-fishing of Antarctic waters and human activities may in the future see some issues with their native habitat. Dr. Miko was a lecturer on-board our last PinkTarctica Antarctic expedition to the Peninsula and is a number one professional on Elephant seals and their behaviour. Dr. Mikolaj is a native of Poland, and was base commander of the Polish base on the Antarctic Peninsula for several seasons.