Elephant seals

Elephant seals are large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus Mirounga. The two species, the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal. The northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 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, South Africa, and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdes, which is the fourth-largest elephant seal colony in the world. These animals are colossally large in comparison with other pinnipeds, with southern elephant seal bulls typically reaching a length of 16 ft (4.9 m) and a weight of 3,000 kg, and are much larger than the cows, with some exceptionally large males reaching up to 20 ft (6.1 m) in length and tipping the scales at 4,000 kg; cows typically measure about 10 ft (3.0 m) and 910 kg. Northern elephant seal bulls reach a length of 14 to 16 ft (4.3 to 4.9 m) and the heaviest weigh about 2455 kg. Elephant seals spend upwards of 80% of their lives in the ocean. They can hold their breath for more than 100 minutes. Elephant seals dive to 1,550 m beneath the ocean's surface. 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. While excellent swimmers, they are also capable of rapid movement on land. As they search for their favorite foods, which are skates, rays, squid, octopuses, eels, small sharks and large fish.