One of the largest mainland breeding colonies in the world for the northern elephant seal is at Año Nuevo State Park. Talk about a class act. It is also the only mammal known to undertake two migratory journeys annually. The male elephant seal "was an errant migrant that swam northward from the South American coast into the Mississippi River system via the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually stranded upriver in Indiana where [he] was killed or scavenged by Indigenous people," the researchers described. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Northern elephant seals were almost hunted to extinction for their blubber oil in the 19th century, only an estimated 100-1,000 individuals on the Mexican Isla de Guadalupe managing to escape the hunt. After nearly three months of food deprivation during the birthing and breeding season (during which they sometimes losing nearly half their fat mass) food is all they can think about, and to find it, they must swim north to their offshore foraging grounds in the North Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska. Squid, rays, skates, small sharks, and Pacific hake compose the elephant seal's diet. Northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris , travel between colonies along the west coast of North America and foraging areas in the North Pacific. Yet, like clockwork, northern elephant seals arrive at the same places, at the same times, year after year. The northern elephant seal is the one of the largest of the true seals, second only to the southern elephant seal. Tagging is less reliable and only used if the seal is spotted by a person. The females migrate further south to 40-45 N. They do not bottom feed, instead they mainly feed on squid. Sexual segregation in foraging is predicted from the great size disparity of male and female northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris. Northern fur seals are members of the "eared seal" family (Otariidae). They spend most of the year in the ocean. They eat about 100 pounds of fish per day. Home Description Migration Patterns Anthropogenic Threats Citations Home ... the Elephant seal does not become pregnant until the last three months of the year and don't return to give birth until may or july, which explains the path near the coast of the california border. Elephant seal make this migration twice a year, also coming back to the rookery to Human beings shed hair and skin all the time, but elephant seals go through a catastrophic molt, in which the entire layer of epidermis with the hairs attached is sloughed off in one concentrated time. Perhaps because they do spend so much time underwater, those of us on land know very little about how the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) manages to find the right migratory course in the first place, much less stick to that course and reach its final destination. Elephant seals can hold their breath for up to 80 minutes and dive to depths of 5,000ft to search for prey. Northern fur seals are members of the "eared seal" family (Otariidae). Fun Facts for Kids. It arrived on the coast of California on July 16th, 2011. Each year the northern elephant seal migrates farther than any other mammal in the world, traveling as many as 13,000 miles (about 21,000 km). Elephant seals undergo a “radical molt," unlike other mammals, they lose all their fur at once and grow a completely new coat. One of the most entertaining attractions, the Elephant Seal Rookery is where pods of northern elephant seals come ashore to mate, give birth, molt and rest. 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