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Elephant seals or sea elephants are very large, oceangoing earless seals 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.
The northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the southern elephant seal). It is a member of the family Phocidae (true seals ). Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the male's large proboscis , which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises ...
Southern elephant seal harem on a beach on the Kerguelen Islands. Southern elephant seal world population was estimated at 650,000 in the mid-1990s, [1] and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000. [18] Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans.
IUCN status and estimated population Ribbon seal. H. fasciata (Zimmermann, 1783) Arctic and subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean (blue indicates reduced summer range) Size: 165–175 cm (65–69 in) long; 72–90 kg (159–198 lb) [31] Habitat: Neritic marine and oceanic marine [32] Diet: Fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates [32] LC
Seals range in size from the 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and 45 kg (100 lb) Baikal seal to the 5 m (16 ft) and 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) southern elephant seal. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism . They have streamlined bodies and four limbs that are modified into flippers .
A common example of a population bottleneck is the Northern elephant seal. Due to excessive hunting throughout the 19th century, the population of the northern elephant seal was reduced to 30 individuals or less. They have made a full recovery, with the total number of individuals at around 100,000 and growing.
Population bottleneck followed by recovery or extinction. A population bottleneck or genetic bottleneck is a sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events such as famines, earthquakes, floods, fires, disease, and droughts; or human activities such as genocide, speciocide, widespread violence or intentional culling.
The skull of the leopard seal. The leopard seal has a distinctively long and muscular body shape when compared to other seals. The overall length of adults is 2.4–3.5 m (7.9–11.5 ft) and their weight is in the range 200 to 600 kilograms (440 to 1,320 lb), making them the same length as the northern walrus but usually less than half the weight.