Elephant seal

An elephant seal is a large seal in the genus Mirounga. Adult males develop an enlarged, trunklike nose, and the genus includes northern and southern species.

Northern elephant seal: A Mirounga species that breeds along the Pacific coast of North America. It is the northern member of the genus, with breeding colonies from California to Baja California.
Polygyny: A mating system in which one male mates with multiple females. Dominant males compete to control breeding groups containing many females.
Animal-borne ocean sensors: Instruments attached to animals that collect environmental data while the animals move through their habitats. Sensors on elephant seals have measured ocean conditions beneath sea ice and in remote waters.
Commercial sealing: The large-scale hunting of seals for products such as oil, fur, or skins. Intensive hunting drove both elephant seal species to near extinction in the nineteenth century.
Año Nuevo State Park: A California coastal park with a major northern elephant seal breeding colony. Its seasonal colony makes northern elephant seal breeding visible on a mainland shore.
Southern elephant seal: The largest seal species, breeding on sub-Antarctic islands and Antarctic shores. It is the southern member of the genus and exceeds the northern species in size.
Harem (zoology): A group of females defended or monopolized by one male during a breeding season. A dominant bull’s harem is the focal unit of beach breeding.
Satellite telemetry: The use of satellite-linked tags to track an organism’s location over time. Tracking tags reveal long migrations and foraging routes between breeding seasons.
Northern elephant seal recovery: The rebound of northern elephant seal numbers after severe nineteenth-century hunting. Protection enabled a dramatic return from a tiny surviving population.
Point Reyes National Seashore: A protected coastal area in California that hosts northern elephant seals. Elephant seals haul out and breed at several beaches within the seashore.

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