A Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga anguistirostris, weaner calling on the beach at Isla San Benito Oeste, Baja California Norte, Mexico.
Northern Elephant Seals range from Mexico to Alaska, but they nearly all give birth on islands off California, USA or Baja California, Mexico, between December and March. Some male individuals (who can feed off the Aleution Islands) have migrated as far as 13,000 miles in one round trip, which is one of the world’s longest mammal migrations. They are protected throughout their range by the Marine Mammals Protection Act (MMPA).
A single pup is born to each mother in late winter. The mother feeds it with rich milk for about a month, during which time she lives off her blubber and does not feed. At the end of that time, she leaves her fat pup to go to sea and feed. Then the ‘weaners’ are left on their own, with a few females remaining in the vicinity, to feed off their fat for a few weeks on the beaches, until hunger forces them to go to the sea and learn to swim and to hunt for themselves.
In 1884, the species was declared extinct, as it had been heavily over-hunted for its blubber which could be rendered into oil, which was in heavy demand. A tiny population was found in Mexico in 1892, and, with protection, the number has grown to about 150,000.
This image is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights strictly as agreed in writing with the author or her agent.
My picture of a Northern Elephant Seal weaner is available to purchase as various types of wall art, and as home and personal accessories, from my gallery at Pixels.com.
