Do seals animal age fast12/17/2023 Over time, a masculine hierarchy is established-but it looks like a bull can’t climb very far up the ladder until he’s backed up a few threats.įor a four year period beginning in 2009, a team from the University of California Santa Cruz conducted an experiment with some nearby elephant seals. The proboscis’s main function is to emit noises that-ideally-ward off rival males, stopping fights before they start. From end to end, large individuals can grow to lengths of 20 feet and weigh up to 8800 pounds. There are 33 known pinniped species, and the absolute biggest is the southern elephant seal. Unlike most other ocean-going mammals (like whales and dugongs), these beasts aren’t fully aquatic: They clamber out of the water to rest, molt, mate, and rear pups. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are collectively known as pinnipeds. Since then, the global population has ballooned up to 160,000-all of whom are descended from those Guadalupe Island holdouts. Things finally started to turn around for the species in 1922, when the island became a biological reserve, and the seals received government protection. All of these survivors dwelled on or around Guadalupe Island off Mexico’s Baja California coast. It was estimated that, in 1910, some 20 to 100 northern elephant seals were still alive. However, a small breeding colony managed to endure. By 1892, many assumed that this poor species had quietly disappeared forever. Slaughtered en masse for their oil-producing blubber, the northern elephant seal was at one time close to extinction. To spot southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina), you'll have to travel below the equator. Of the two species, this one’s smaller in overall size-though males come with longer trunks. Hit any beach from Alaska to Mexico and you just might spot a northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris) colony. Extreme divers and polygamous lovers, these “elephants of the sea” are some of the oddest marine mammals alive-which is saying something.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |