NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL

Selene Fregosi

Latin name: Mirounga angustirostris

Northern elephant seals were hunted nearly to extinction at the end of the 19th century. Since the end of commercial sealing they have recovered to nearly 200,000 individuals. However, their deep diving nature and proximity to shore puts them at risk from human impacts such as increased ocean noise. Selene Fregosi and colleagues developed and tested an animal borne active acoustic tag as a potential tool for studying the effect of noise on deep diving marine mammals.

Did you know? Males arrive at the breeding rookeries ahead of the females to establish dominance through fighting; the most dominant males get access to the biggest harems. Weaned pups are called weaners, pups that steal milk from other females and are called super weaners! 

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