Pinnepeds Need Oceans Too

Seals and sea lions spend most of their lives in the ocean, so anything that compromises the ocean and its coastlines threatens these species as well.

An entire class of mammals that get around on flippers instead of paws or hoofs spend most of their lives at sea.

Elephant seals, sometimes called sea elephants, are the largest of these mammals (called pinnipeds) and are found in both the Pacific and Indian oceans. A northern subspecies ranges along the Pacific coast of North America, while the southern elephant seal can be found in the Southern Hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia and Macquarie, and along the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

The adult male’s large proboscis, which resembles an elephant’s trunk, gives the elephant seal its name. It also allows the males to make incredibly loud roars during mating season. Elephant seals can hold their breath for more than 100 minutes, a valuable skill when you spend about 80 percent of your life in the ocean.

Hunted to near-extinction by the end of the 19th century, elephant seal populations have somewhat recovered but remain threatened by entanglement in marine debris, fishery interactions and boat collisions.

Like all oceangoing mammals, the elephant seal has been protected since 1972 under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, which outlaws hunting, killing, capturing and harassing the animals.