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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 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 ...
The southern elephant seal is distinguished from the northern elephant seal (which does not overlap in range with this species) by its greater body mass and a shorter proboscis. The southern males also appear taller when fighting, due to their tendency to bend their backs more strongly than the northern species.
Female elephant seals take seven-month feeding trips during which they balance danger, starvation and exhaustion. Dan Costa, CC BY-NDEvery year, northern elephant seals set off on a seven-month ...
An international conservation organization has listed African elephants as critically endangered after a sharp population decline.
The enormous marine mammals weigh as much as 2.2 tons apiece.
Phocids such as elephant seals, grey seals and hooded seals have a lactation period that lasts days or weeks, during which they fast and nurse their pups on land or ice. The milk of these species consists of up to 60% fat, allowing the young to grow quickly. Each day until they are weaned, northern elephant seal pups gain 4 kg (9 lb).
Four seal species are estimated to have over one million members, while six are classified as endangered with population counts as low as 600, and two, the Caribbean monk seal and the Japanese sea lion, went extinct in the 20th century.