Southern elephant seal

Southern elephant seal

Southern elephant seal  is the world's largest carnivore in the world . Southern elephant seal makes the largest migration of mammals. It is longer than human beings. They are aggressive fighter.

Range and population

The largest subpopulation is in the South Atlantic, with more than 400,000 individuals, including about 113,000 breeding females on South Georgia; the other breeding colonies of the Atlantic subpopulation are located on theFalkland Islands and Valdes Peninsula in Argentina (the only continental breeding population).

Feeding and diving

In the ocean, the seals apparently live alone. Most females dive in pelagic zones for foraging, while males dive in both pelagic and benthic zones. Individuals will return annually to the same hunting areas. Due to the inaccessibility of their deep-water foraging areas, no comprehensive information has been obtained about their dietary preferences, although some observation of hunting behavior and prey selection has occurred.

While hunting in the dark depths, elephant seals seem to locate their prey, at least in part, using vision; thebioluminescence of some prey animals can facilitate their capture. Elephant seals do not have a developed system of echolocation in the manner of cetaceans, but their vibrissae (facial whiskers), which are sensitive to vibrations, are assumed to play a role in search of food. When at the subantarctic or Antarctic coasts, the seals can also consume molluscs, crustaceans, nothothens.

Conservation

The reasons for this are unclear, but are thought to be related to the distribution and declining levels of the seals' primary food sources.Most of their most important breeding sites are now protected by international treaty, asUNESCO World Heritage Sites, or by national legislation.

PREY AND ENEMIES

prey

enemies

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