Southern and northern sea elephant

Sea elephants are very interesting animals. They, warm-blooded and mammalian, are perfectly adapted to life in water - instead of paws they have fins, the body shape is streamlined, a large subcutaneous layer of fat does not allow to freeze in cold water, rough skin and hard wool also contribute to the preservation of heat - but at the same time it is vital It is necessary to spend some time on land, where they are awkward and clumsy fat people.

Apart from the way of life of these animals, the origin of the name of their species is extremely interesting. After all, the phrase "sea elephant" in the majority of associations causes something huge and majestic, and the real elephants of the sea almost do not surpass the size of seals. Why did these funny animals get that name?

In fact, the sea elephant was so named not because of its impressive size, but because of the skin fold located on the muzzle of this animal and resembling a trunk. Therefore, when describing a sea elephant, information about an elephant land is almost useless. This "trunk" is not very big - about 10 centimeters - but when the beast is experiencing a period of emotional stress, it can increase.

In nature, there are two kinds of sea elephants: the northern and southern elephants. The main difference between these two species is their habitat and size.

The northern sea elephant lives on the west coast of America, so many coastal states consider this animal its attraction and use it to attract tourists. But this is now, when these animals are protected by law.

In the past, and very close, these beasts were mercilessly exterminated by hunters, and by the end of the twentieth century, they were almost gone. However, once the elephant seals were declared protected species, their population increased sharply.

The size of these animals is not very large: the weight of males can reach 2.7 tons, and the weight of females is only 900 kilograms.

The habitat of the southern elephant seal is much larger: it extends to the coasts of Antarctica, New Zealand, Patagonia, southern Africa and Australia. In size, the southern elephant seal is also noticeably ahead of its northern counterpart: the weight of males can reach 3.5 tons, the length of the body is 6 meters, the weight of females is 1.5 tons, and the body length is 3 meters.

The possibilities of these animals are very great: they are able to do without air for about 40 minutes, dive to a depth of half a kilometer and swim without rest about 5,000 kilometers.

In the rest, these two species of elephant elephants are very similar, they lead an almost identical lifestyle, they bring up the cubs equally.

So, all the sea elephants are predators, they feed on caught fish and squid - so awkward on land, in water these animals turn into fast and tireless hunters. The average lifespan of a sea elephant is 20 years.

A considerable period of their life sea elephants spend in the water, hunting, eating and developing. In order to rest, they creep out to the shore, where they arrange for rest. But in the mating season on the ground habitual rookeries males arrange real tournaments - so they establish a hierarchy. During this period, personal power is very important for elephant seals, because the larger the rivals the male has won, the more he will have a harem - the strongest can gather around him to hundreds of females.

After building a hierarchy, males mate with their females, whose pregnancy lasts 11 months. A couple of weeks before the birth of the female sail to their rookery, where they give birth to one cub.

Parenting offspring in sea elephants lies only in females. Mom for a whole month nurses her baby with her milk, not going anywhere from him and eating only the fat accumulated during the year. By the way, the milk of these animals is the most fat among mammals - about 50% fat. A month later, the mother goes in search of food and leaves her baby forever, who must now survive on her own.

For a month spent on breast milk, baby elephants grow and accumulate a large amount of fat, allowing them to survive in the first month of independent life. And two years later, young animals will reach sexual maturity, and they will become parents of a new generation of elephant seals.