Elephant seals are tracked with electronic instruments for a variety of reasons, including where they travel and feed during their foraging migrations, how they expertly navigate through the ocean, how much they are able to eat during foraging trips,
Elephant seals are tracked in a couple different ways. First, a select few seals each year are equipped with flipper tags with a unique alphanumeric ID that allows researchers to find them on the beach each year and record their age, whether they are
Absolutely not! Because seals are so large, they can carry these small instruments with no adverse effects. Scientists partner with a federal permitting agency and institutional care committee to ensure they are using best practices, including select
Seals are not considered critically endangered, although there are a number of threats they face in the wild, including hunting, marine debris (including microplastics), entanglement, and boat collisions. Elephant seals in particular were nearly hunt
Seals typically live along the coast in colder waters (thank you, blubber!), but most call the Arctic and Antarctic home. The northern elephant seals we track reside at the Año Nuevo State Reserve in California, though you can spot this species anywh
It depends on the species and sex—females generally live longer than males. The average lifespan for harbor seals in the wild is around 15 years; gray seals can live 25–30 years; elephant seals 14–20+ years; harp seals around 30 years.
Depending on the species, seals can hold their breath underwater for anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours! The bigger the seal, the larger the lung capacity; male elephant seals can reach the 2 hour mark without surfacing for air. They can also dive d
There are two types of seals: true seals, which are earless (like the elephant seal) and flop around on land on their bellies, and eared seals (like sea lions) whose rear flippers help them “walk.” All seals, sea lions, and walruses are pinnipeds—mar
Adult male elephant seals sport an extra-long nose that looks similar to an elephant's trunk! Instead of a trumpet, it produces a loud roaring noise used during mating season to establish dominance among competing bulls. Southern elephant seals are a