Sea elephants are real giants, they are the largest carnivorous animals. Referent to these seals and somewhat risen on hokhlach seal, however, significantly exceed them in size. In nature, there are 2 types of marine elephants: southern and northern.
Since south sea \u200b\u200bElephant It has a rather impressive size, most people think that this animal is called an elephant because of this. In fact, their name is like a fleshy on the nose, which resembles a trunk, although the size of such a "trunk" and does not exceed 10 centimeters. Females do not possess such a distinctive feature.
Southern Sea Elephants
In the length of the sea elephant can reach 5 meters and weigh to 2.5 tons. True, females are much smaller - only up to 3 meters, with weight less than a ton. From the rest of the seals, the Southern Sea Elephant is different large quantity subcutaneous fat - more than 35%. Grown on the nose is used as an element during the marital battles. The skin of the animal is coarse and thick, covered with thick fur. The young has a silvery gray color, adults - brown.
The habitat of this subspecies is the subnutrctic islands and the shores of Patagonia. Individual rarely meet alone, them favourite hobby - Form of huge frying on pebble beaches.
Interesting Facts:
- The southern sea elephant is more of its northern neighbor - some individuals can reach 4 tons.
- May remain long in water - more than 20 minutes. A documented record for finding an animal under water without a break was 2 hours.
- Maximum depthFor which animals are immersed, is almost 1.5 kilometers.
- Most Life they spend in the ocean. They go to the land during the breeding period and molt, for 3-5 weeks a year.
Females and males are distinguished by the presence of a trunk and weight. At the same time, they have a lot of common: short front fins, such a type of physique, strong rear fin. Around the neck of the animals often observed the scars that they get in the battles during mating.
Features of life
Southern elephants feed crabs, fish and shrimp. The males make themselves food in the waters of the continental shelf, and females go to the open sea.
Reproduction:
- During the breeding and molting period, the southern sea elephants most often arrive to the place where they were born. A few weeks before the exit of females from the water, the males lead battles for the territory. At the same time, each of them must win and protect for a long time a certain fanger. He goes without food, which makes it exhausted by the end of the pairing period. Therefore, only the strongest alpha males remain, each of which falls with dozens of females.
- Most females are in the rookery of pregnant women, they give birth to offspring and some time after that they are again ready for mating. As a rule, one cub is born. IN rare cases There may be two of them.
- The newborn southern sea elephant has a length of about a meter and weighs 25-50 kg. Mother is with a child of 23 days, after which mating and the cubs are torn from the chest. At this time, it already weighs about 120 kg.
- After that, the female goes into the ocean, and young individuals are combined into groups. For several weeks, they live through the use of subcutaneous fat. In the end, starting the way to the ocean hungry. Alone learn to swim and extract yourself.
- In 3 years, females reach sexual maturity, and by 6 years participate in the annual pairing cycle. The males begin to compete for women only by 10 years. Pregnancy lasts 11 months, in the lifespan of about 20 years.
Northern Marine Elephant
This subspecies lives on the west coast of America, where the landmark is considered. Local residents They are valued for massively attract tourists. Now sea elephants are under the protection of the law. Until recently, they were so massively destroyed that the view of almost disappeared. He even was considered extinct for some time. However, it turned out that one colony was survived, which dwells in the Mexican Island Guadeloupe. After the prohibition of hunting, the number of individuals increased dramatically. Now the rate of increasing population is up to 15% annually. Today, the view is no longer under a serious threat to extinction.
In nature the enemies are Cathos and sharks. In the period of Gon, the males die from death wounds. At the same time a large number of Young man dies under the carcasses of adults.
The northern sea elephant differs from the southern fact that the sexual dimorphism is less pronounced. However, the trunk of males is more - it reaches 30 centimeters in length.
Sea elephant is a very interesting animal that refers to seal. Southern subspecies are much greater, since the Northern destroyed for a long time, which almost led to the full extinction of the animal. The southern representative of the species is somewhat larger than North and is the largest carnivorous mammal.
NOVEMBER 7TH, 2013
In our age, when humanity penetrated into space And we are crazy to find at least some living organisms on Mars or other planets, unwittingly think about: Do we know how you follow our earthly fellows? Do we know much about them? Do we know their lifestyle? Needs? Behavior? Relationship with the outside world?
For examples, it is not necessary to walk. Do many of us have seen a living marine elephant? Of course, about the fact that such animals exist, they know almost everything. But few people lucky enough to see in natural conditions These giants exceeding the size and weight of rhinos, hippoppets and walruses. Marine elephants live in remote places, namely: in Patagonia - on the coast of Argentina, on the Islands of McCory - South Tasmania, on the island of Signs, on South Georgia.
So what are these marine elephants?
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To begin with, let's say that this is a huge lastonous mammals belonging to the kind of bellyous seals (Phocidae), named so unlike eared seal - Otariidae. The length of males from three to six meters, and weighs such a mahina to two tons! On the shape of the body, these giants resemble walruses, and their skin is the same thick and firm, but they have no beer of the walrus, but there is something like a short thick trunk (which marine elephants are obliged to their name). These amazing animals at our time survived quite a bit. Yes, and do not spoil at the last moment, they would have disappeared at all from the face of the earth, like their close parents - marine cows found by naturalist Georg Steller in 1741, during the expedition in the Bering Sea. When describing these enormous innocuous herbaliform animals, it was not worth it thanks to their nervousness and gullibility, the steller involuntarily pointed out the road to easy production with various enterprising people. By 1770, sea cows (later called steller) no longer existed.
With the sea elephants of this, fortunately, did not happen. First of all, because they live in hard-to-reach areas for humans: either floating in ice water polar seas The southern hemisphere, where in addition they never subsided with sharp storm winds, or briefly choose on their fokers located on the desert rocky shores of Patagonia or on small islands in the ocean. In addition, marine elephants, in contrast to their innocuous relatives - Digo, or Sirena, peacefully pinching sea grass on the underwater "meadows", not by defenseless animals. In particular, males. The teeth are sharp, and the power is huge. Adult male is very aggressive. Sea elephants - predators: feed on various aquatic animals, mostly fish.
There are two types of marine elephants: North (Mirounga Angustirostris) and South (Mirounga Leonina). North Viewdifferent from the southern narrower and long trunk, dwells in California and mexican waters. Due to predatory fishery in the past century, this species almost did not completely disappear. By 1890, the northern sea elephants remained only about a hundred, and only followed strombing prohibition Fishery allowed them to increase their livestock again. In 1960, they were already fifteen thousand.
Ferrous extermination and herd south View, the former extensive range of which is now limited to only by several Antarctic Islands, such as Kergelen, Cryau, Marion, South Georgia. Preserved and somewhat root on the islands of McKori and Herd. However B. moderate zonewhere they also met the rookers of these animals, for example, southern coast Chile, on the island of King near Tasmania or the Falkland Islands and the island of Juan Fernandez - now you will not see any ...
Today, marine elephants can be said somewhat recovered from the old shocks. Something they even restored their former number. But this, of course, only where the animals are under strict security, for example, on the Argentine Peninsula of Waldes, announced by the protected, or on the Islands of McCory or Herd, where the hunt for them is prohibited for forty-five years. Animals are clearly gracious there, and the number of their year is growing from the year. As for the islands such as South Georgia and Kergelen, then a part of the herd is shooting from time to time. True, it is alleged that they do it under strict scientific control.
What were the sea elephants for commercials so attractive? They mined these animals for one subcutaneous fat. The layer reaches the thickness of fifteen centimeters! It needs an animal to protect it from heat loss in ice water, in which it spends most of life. And this one is fat and turned out to be so attractive. For the sake of him, sea elephants were ruthlessly killed, the whole mountains were walking on the shores, and immediately in the shores in specially established for this purpose, fat were filled with fat ... On one of the Patagonian coast of Argentina from 1803 to 1819, the North American, English and Dutch Springs were wrapped in A total of a million seven hundred sixty thousand liters of "Elephant Fat". And this means that the number of those killed for this animals reached at least four - six thousand! They scored them with the most that there is a barbaric way: cut off the way to salute water and chained with spears or pushed a last-minute torch in the open mouth ...
And now, on the shores of many Patagonia Islands, these huge chains and other equipment for flying fat, rusting on the salt sea wind ... These abandoned chains seem to be a sad memory of the mindless and irresponsible exploitation of nature by man in the near-past past and serve as a warning to future generations ...
And now, when people stopped killing sea elephants, they had time to study them. This is engaged in several groups of scientists from different countries. Successful observations of the life of these giants held English biologists under the leadership of Dr. R. M. Lavs from the British Antarctic Service on the Islands of Signs and South Georgia; At the same time, Australian scientists, led by Dr. R. Karrik, worked on the Islands of McCori and Herd. The results of their research were published in Canberra in 1964. Somewhat later on the same islands, the famous English Zoologist John Warham conducted observations.
What did you manage to learn about this rare and little learned animal?
Despite its colossal sizes, the sea elephant is a good swimmer. This contributes to the spine-like shape of his body. Slow sea elephant is capable of speed up to twenty-three kilometers per hour. Moreover, in icy water, a reliable protection from the cold serves as a peculiar "telechire" - a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. In the water, this aircraft showing extraordinary maneuverability and agility: after all, here he has to extradite food, chasing his fish, looking for clusters of plankton and various crustaceans. Much worse, the sea elephant is adapted for habitat on land, although there he has to spend a good quarter of life. It is difficult to imagine a more slow and ridiculous animal! It painfully drags his heavy body on rocky soil, moving with the help of one's front alone. At this time, he resembles a huge snail or caterpillar: one "step" is only thirty-five centimeters at the sea elephant! Own weight, so imperceptible in water, on land becomes an unbearable cargo for an animal. It is not surprising that from the voltage of the sea elephant quickly gets tired, falls and immediately falls asleep by the Bogatyr, disobedient sleep. The dream of the Marine Elephant is truly dustless - in any case, it is not so easy to wake it up. It is explained by this by the fact that during a very long time these giants did not have any enemies on land, and they, like rhino, had no one to be afraid and no need to sleep sensibly.
The deep sleep of the sea elephants has repeatedly led to the surprise of the English zoo of John Warham, who conducted his observations on the island of McKori. Every morning, leaving his tent, he stumbled upon the marine elephants who had fallen in front of the door and blocking the road. It was completely melting young males long from three to four and a half meters. They slept completely serene, their breath was deep and noisy, sometimes moving even into rolling snoring. However, it was not worth moving through them to the researcher: he walked directly in their backs, and so far it came to the consciousness of these respect, that they walked around in forged shoes (why they frightened their heads), the trouble was already far away ...
No less amazing the ability of marine elephants to sleep under water. But how do animals still manage to breathe at this time? After all, they have lungs, not gills! .. Scientists managed to figure out the secret of such underwater sleep. After a five or ten-minute stay under water, the breast cell of the animal expands, the nostrils remain tightly closed. From this body density decreases, and it pops up. On the surface of the water, the nostrils open, and for about three minutes the animal inhales the air. Then it falls again to the bottom. Eyes all this time remain closed: the elephant is clearly sleeping.
Stones usually find stones in the stomach of the sea elephant. Residents of places where these animals live, believe that the stones serve ballast during the immersion of elephants under water. There are other explanations. For example, stones in the stomach can contribute to the eraser of food - the entire staple fish and crustaceans.
The marine elephants eat mostly fish, and not the Caracatians at all, as it was thought before. Caracatians in their "menus" no more than two percent. But the fishes adult sea elephant eats a lot. According to the famous Zoologist Gagenbeck, the five-meter marine elephant Goliath, held in his zoom, a day he eaten an average of fifty kilograms of fish! This kind of reports made some ompologists argue that the disappearance of marine elephants is good, because they, they say, challenged the catch in fishermen ... However, thorough studies have shown the absurdity of such conclusions: the food of maritime elephants serve mainly small sharks and skates, not listed in the list fishery fish... on land, during the breeding period, sea elephants are able to fast: at this time they do not eat anything, but live at the expense of their inland fatses.
Careful study of these animals in last years She opened the veil over many secrets of their lives and behavior. Something in which these nervous colosses turned out to be a fairly convenient object for the researcher: nothing was worth it, for example, measuring their length, calculate the number of individual studs, their composition, age groups, watch the "family" life of these animals, the appearance of young people, etc. But try to weigh such a huddle! After all, after all, the male-rising "on the rates" (and this is their ordinary pose of the threat) becomes an increase with a good column, and even the appearance of one photo of such a giant leads to the thrill. Where is it here to think about grabbing him and cook on the scales! .. No, it is not easy to study this case - the study of such animals, and you need to be a real enthusiast to take it. After all, it is impossible to forget about climatic features places where these observations are being conducted: about continuous barbed winds, ice water, bare, intensely rock landscape ... and yet researchers managed to spend and quite important workwhich allowed not only to determine the age of individual individuals, but also to trace their migration, seasonal changes Stud composition, molting process, relationship in the herd.
But let's start in order. For four years, Australian researchers on the islands of Herd and McKori systemally methyl stimples of the young elephants are approximately how this is done with homemade calves or foals. By 1961, almost seven thousand young elephants were labeled. This later made it possible to accurately determine the age of a particular animal, the order in which various age groups appear on a fry, attachment of individual individuals to their "homeland" or a tendency to change places ... So, a female under the number "M-102" four years in a row I brought offspring at the same place and only for the fifth year I moved to half a kilometer further. Other laws are revealed. For example, "adolescent" groups of marine elephants appear on a rookery much later than adult individuals involved in reproduction, which usually falls for the period from August to mid-November. Molting in animals of various age groups is also happening in different time. Thus, the rookery is almost never empty - only the contingent of its inhabitants changes.
Among males, four groups can be clearly distinguished. The first - "teenage" - are animals aged from the age of to six years, their sizes do not exceed three meters. They appear on the rookery in winter, especially after storms, with a clear goal to break from swimming. On line these animals are before everyone - in December (the beginning of the summer in southern Hemisphere), And then all other animals are already appearing in the order of seniority: the older in age, the later.
The second, or "youthful" group form animals aged from six to thirteen years, the dimensions of them from three to four and a half meters. They sail to the beach in the fall, shortly after the females appear young, however, they do not enter the fight with the senior males and even before the beginning of Goh (after Radiation of the Cub) flooded in the sea.
The next age group is the so-called applicants. Such males, the size of four and a half to six meters, with a proudly inflated trunk, are in a constantly aggressive mood and climb to fight the owners of the rookers - the owners of the "haremov" - powerful old males, trying to beat off their part of the females. These old experienced males make up the fourth age group.
Such a "Harem" owner is a very impressive figure. He is huge, impressive, jealous and aggressive. Whether he is different - he would not be able to keep on his "post." After all, the "harem" is usually made up of several dozen females, and to keep in the obedience of all these curious, knitting to disperse in different directions and "Ceccursors" with all sorts of beauties that appeared by the "applicant" of beauties, I need an incomplete strength and a non-deploying eye ... Hurrying the opponent, the owner " Harem "emits an evil roar and rushes to him, worse everything that comes across on the way: overturns females and brakes of a cub ... such a" owner "in general, as a rule, an uncomfortable" insensible "animal. It often happens that he presses the cubs of newborns. The case is described when the male lay down to sleep, drowned under him desperately screaming young, but did not think to get up to free the unfortunate.
If "harem" is great for one owner, he is forced to admit to his territory of "assistants" guarding her remote areas ...
The observations showed that the same old and strong male dominates the "harem" throughout the season of breeding, and younger and weak males are often forced to give up their place to superior to their opponent. Although the fights of males are flying away usually in water, not far from the shore, on the beach at that time, panic also begins - shouting female females, young trying to escape. Therefore, from "haremov", where they are too often disturbing, females try to move into more calmer "harem".
Fight males - an impressive spectacle. Rivals, boiling to each other, climb "on the rap", towering a meter for four above shallow water, and freeze in such a posture for a few minutes, reminding stone sculptures of monsters. Animals publish a deaf roar, the tricks are concerned about, irrigating the enemy with a spray cascade. After such a representation, a weaker enemy is usually retisted, continuing to root threateningly, and by moving out to a safe distance, there is a downtown. The winner eats proudly cry and, making a few false throws after a fugitive, calm down and returns to the beach.
When none of the rivals are going to give up, the battle flared seriously. Then both powerful body Gulko hit each other, fast and sharp movement of the head everyone tries to lifting fangs in the neck of the enemy. However, the skin of the marine elephant is so hard and slippery, and even supplied with a thick pillow of subcutaneous fat, which is rare to serious injuries. True, the scars and scars remain on the neck of males, but only.
No matter how a faster looks from such a fight, in most cases, it does not reach serious bloodshed. Typically, everything is limited to mutual intimidation, frightening roar and suggestion. The biological meaning of this behavior is clear: the strongest, which will take on the functions of the manufacturer during the marriage period and how the successor of the genus will convey his offspring positive traits. At the same time, a weaker young male does not die on the battlefield and thereby turns off from the further process of reproduction of the form ...
When individual sites and "harem" are already distributed, the battles between the males' neighbors practically does not occur: if someone will break the territorial integrity, it is enough to lift and buried that the border impairment immediately removed.
In relation to man, the tall males far from always show aggressiveness. And they are not, and just a females may be the most dangerous for the researcher who drove into the very thick of herd. John Warham, for example, more than once had to get acquainted with their sharp teeth and shamefully to run away, leaving a good piece of his panta to the memory of his own naval ...
About females worth telling more. Females are significantly less than males - rarely they reach three meters of length and tons of weight. They grow slowly, but physically develop faster males: to two-three years they become already having sex, males achieve sexual maturity significantly later.
The reproduction period lasts from August to mid-November. The females appear on the rookery already "on demolitions" and days later they bring offspring. Most of the cub will be born from late September to mid-October. The owners of the "harem" are vigilantly protected females during the appearance of offspring.
And females, and males arrive at the beach well refined after the thorough feeding of fat in the sea. It is necessary for a long "post", which they have to withstand on land: males will "fast" to two weeks, and females even for the whole month! But during this time, the females have to be transferred all the deprivation associated with childbirth and feeding the young, and the males - the stress of the next marriage period and the battles associated with him with rivals.
Appearing on the beach and preparing for childbirth, females are located at some distance from each other, and do not be closely visible, as in normal time. Generics themselves are just about twenty minutes, and the cub appears in the greater. Moreover, it is a pre-car: covered with a wavy black wool and looks at the world huge radiant eyes. But the "baby" weighs about fifty kilograms, and the length reaches one and a half meters, that is, the size of an adult seal ...
Having appeared on the light, the young publishes a short barking, resembling a dog, mother responds to him the same, sniffing it and thus remembers. Subsequently, it will unmistakably distinguish it among many other young and can return if he will attempt to flush.
The upcoming birth can be immediately determined by the fact that thorns are twisted large brown birds, which in some locations are called aku. These birds will be launched in the role of "overwhelming bars" from sea cloths. With extraordinary agility, they remove generic films and a placenta, and if the case can cope with the stillborn young. Skua is not offended and spilled on the ground with milk nursing females.
Milk is unusually nutritionally (almost half consists of fat), and the young will grow up with unprecedented speed: per day add from five to twelve kilograms! In the first eleven days, they double the weight, and in two and a half of the week they are lost. In length, they add, however, a little, but it is increasing the impressive fat layer - at seven and a half centimeters, which will be needed in the first place: it must protect their body from supercooling during the upcoming long stay in water.
About a month later, the young, or "Kohoro", as they are called in Patagonia, females cease to feed. By this time, their "infant" black fur is replaced with silver-gray, they look very fastened and satisfied. Soon they leave the "harem", consolaving into the depths of the beach, where they are searched and increasing the muscles. At the age of five weeks, young people begins his first timing attempts. In a quiet, windless nights, sea elephant clumsily descend the water of the lagoon or left behind the sun, and carefully float near the coast. Gradually, they are becoming more confident and bolder, they are drunk at longer maritime excursions, until nine weeks from the family, finally, native fools and not float away ...
And again, it is only wondering how reasonably everything is arranged in nature. The young man becomes independent in that period when prospects for his survival are most favorable. Just at this time, the sea surface is tightened by a particularly thick layer of plankton, and the young maritime elephants are provided for several months easily accessible and calorie food.
However, the control over labeled animals showed another: half of the young dies in the first year of his life. Later, the loss is significantly reduced, and the four-year-old age reaches about forty percent of young people.
Based on these data, Australian specialists came to the following important conclusions. If it is already necessary to shoot some part of the herd of sea elephants (due to the overflow of the rookery, the lack of feed, etc.), then it should be young aged from five weeks to one year. But it is completely unacceptable to shoot adult males, as it was once practiced on South Georgia, where one day they were killed about six thousand for one summer. Without the proper guard of "haremov", the old experienced males of the herd come into decay, because young males begin to lead continuous battles with each other, challenging the championship. This is what the incompetent human intervention leads to the affairs of nature and therefore it is necessary to avoid rapid acts without sufficient scientific justification.
But back on the rookery of the sea elephants, from where you just left the young. After the "weching" of the young female again mate with the owner of the "Harem" and soon after that go to the sea - to relax from the chickness of childbirth, to lean out and increase new layer Fat until the next appearance on the rookery - in February, during the period of molting.
And here, it should be mentioned about one of the most amazing devices of the animal organism to the conditions of existence: the development of the embryo in the womb of the female for a while is suspended, and the embryo is "preserved" for the entire unfavorable period of life of the animal - in this case, the time of molts. (Such a phenomenon is observed in some other animals - many lastonous, as well as a sable, rabbit, kangaroo, etc.) the development of the embryo continues only in March, when the molting of females are already over.
Powerful males, the owners of the beach, declared on the molt much later - in about early April. Stressful life on a frying requires a longer recovery of forces.
As already mentioned, younger appear first, and later - older in age. During molting, the age groups hold together, but in gender signs: females with females, and males with males. Links lasts, depending on age, one or two months. Until its complete ending animals will never be broken in swimming, because at this time sensitive blood vessels The skin is highly expanded and sharp cooling can cause a violation of the thermoregulation mechanism, and this means an imminent death in ice water.
The view of the linen marine elephant is the most deplorable: the old skin hangs on it with ripped rags. At first she gets off the muzzle, and then from all over the body. At the same time, the poor fellows are scratching for themselves of the sides and belly, trying to speed up this process is clearly unpleasant for them ...
Linening animals are usually located in some frightened moss, the swamp, not far from the coast, and, restlessly peeling, swearing a loose ground, turning it into a dirty mess. In him, they are immersed by the most nostrils. Smerand around is at this time terrifying. So not every tourist is able to withstand it ... By the way, about tourists visiting reserve places. As already mentioned, the Argentine government announced a small Valdez peninsula in the north of Patagonia to the protected. On this peninsula, the colony of marine elephants, numbering several hundred heads, settled. It is called "Elefanteria" (elephant), and from recently there is access to visitors. The resort town of Puerto Madrin appeared in a hundred sixty-five kilometers from the rookery. And since the water here is often too cold for swimming, many vacationers willingly take excursions to Elefanteriy. To their services paid guides. In addition, the tourist route running on a number of South American countries includes a visit to the Valdez Peninsula with its fangering of marine elephants. All the increasing flow of tourists, loudly expressing their delight and incessantly clicking cameras, certainly nerves animals, violates their familiar lifestyle, especially at the time when females bring offspring. The males - the owners of "harem" here began to behave much more aggressive than usual. They viciously rush towards annoying visitors, trying to run them from "their" territory, or drive all their "harem" into the water ...
In kind 2 types:
southern Sea Elephant - M. Leonina Linnaeus, 1758 (Sanctarctic Water Circumpolarno north to 16 ° Yu. sh. and south to Antarctic Packy ice - 78 ° S. W.; Protects Punta Norte and Fire Earth in Argentina and on O-Wham of Falkland, South Shetland, South Orkney, South Georgia, South Sandwich, Hoff, Marion, Prince Eduard, Cryro, Kergelen, Herd, Makuori, Auckland, Campbell);
northern Sea Elephant - M. Angustirostris Gill, 1866 (Islands off the coast of Mexico and California to the north to O-Great Pond Vancouver and Prince Wales; breeding on O-Wah San Nicholas, San Miguel, Guadalupe and San Benito).
The northern sea elephant was recently close to destruction with excessive fishery, but in lately Thanks to the prohibition of fishery, its number has increased significantly and continues to increase.
The total number of southern sea elephants is determined in 600-700 thousand goals, and the northern - just 10-15 thousand heads.
The southern sea elephants are industrialized on coastal searches, and there are limitations of fishery for seasons, the size of the produced seal at least 3.5 m long and their number. For example, in 1951, 8 thousand marine elephants were allowed; 7877 mined. Fat and skin obtained from extracted animals.
Marine elephants ( Mirounga.) - the largest genus in the family of real seals ,. Two types of marine elephants are distinguished, called in accordance with the hemisphere in which they live. Northern Sea Elephants ( Mirounga angustirostris) are found in coastal waters around Canada and Mexico, and southern sea elephants ( Mirounga Leonina.) are common off the coast of New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.
Description
The oldest confirmed fossils of these animals belong to and they were found in New Zealand.
Only adult male has a big trunk similar to. The male uses it to roar during the marriage season.
Southern sea elephants are a little more than the northern. Expressed, the males of both species are much larger than females. Medium weight An adult male southern species can be 3000 kg, and the body length reach 5 m. The adult female weighs about 900 kg, and its body length is approximately 3 m.
The color of the animal depends on the floor, age and season. It can be with rust, light or dark brown or gray.
The sea elephant has a large body, short front flippers with fingers and refigble rear flips. The skin is a thick layer of fat, which protects the animal in the cold. Every year, sea elephants are linted.
The average life expectancy ranges from 20 to 22 years.
Reproduction
Sea elephants - single animals. They return every winter to the created nest colonies. Females become half-arms aged 3 to 6 years, and males - in 5-6 years.
Nevertheless, males must reach alpha-status for mating, which usually comes from 9 to 12 years. Males fight with each other using body weight and teeth. While the deadly cases are rare, wounded. Harem Alpha-male is from 30 to 100 females. Other males are on the edges of the colony, sometimes mating with females before alpha males will pursue them. Male remains on land in winter to protect the territory.
About 79% of adult females fall, but only more than half of them produce offspring. The period of gestation lasts about 11 months, at the end of which one young appears. Female milk contains an extremely high percentage of fatty, more than 50% (compared with 4% of the fatty milk in women). Females do not eat within one month to feed the cub. The next mating occurs during last days Feeding.
Food and behavior
Sea elephants - mammals. In their diet enter squids, octopuses, acne, fish, krill, and sometimes. Males hunt at the bottom, and females - in open Ocean. Sea elephants use the vision and vibration of their mustache (vibrass) to find food. They can attack Shark, Kozatok and People.
These animals spend about 20% of their life on land and about 80% - in the ocean. Although they are, maritime elephants are able to fasten people on land. In the sea they develop a speed of 5-10 km / h.
Sea elephants can be immersed on great depths. The males spend more time under water than females. The adult male is capable of being under water about two hours and dive with a depth of about 2 km.
Secure status
On marine elephants hunted because of their meat, fur and fat. Poaching led to the fact that the species were on the verge of extinction. By 1892, most people believed that the northern sea elephants were extinct. But in 1910, near the island of Guadalupe, the only breeding colony was discovered near the coast of the Mexican state of the State California. At the end of the 19th century, new legislation in the field of conservation marine environment To protect these animals. Today, marine elephants are no longer dangerous, although they are at risk of entanglement in trash and fishing networks, and can also be injured in water transport collisions. IUCN lists them as animals causing the smallest concerns.
- Scientists have determined that warm temperature Waters are born more males than females.
- Orc squeals in Main Mine in the film "The Lord of the Rings: The Ring Brotherhood" was the sound of a young maritime elephants.
- In 2000, the maritime elephant made by Homer terrorized the New Zelaland city of Gisborne. Homer attacked cars, boat trailers, garbage bins, trees and even a transformer.
In nature, there is a lot of mammals, which we only see on TV. And if you think about it, in fact, we do not know anything about them. How they live and where. In what conditions and what they eat. How to multiply and raise their offspring. And most importantly, it does not threaten anything.
Description and Features of the Marine Elephant
Sea Elephant,absolutely has nothing to do with land elephant. The only semi is similar to them - at the sea, on the end of the muzzle, hangs thirty centimeter thick process, allegedly resembling an elephant trunk.
Mammal belonging to the family of jerbery seal. Although some connoisseurs of science, zoologists have long refuted this theory. And they argue that their distant ancestor, it's oddly enough, badger and a cuckit. Marine elephants are huge in their sizes, even though they are mammals, but belong to predators.
They live in the north of the American continent and in the Antarctic region. IN Antarctica marine elephanti got hiding from poachers. Residents of Subarctic and Sanctarctic seas.
These representatives, northern and South marine elephantsmany similar appearance with each other. Northern Sea Elephantsslightly larger than its southern relatives. Their nose, in contrast to the southern elephants, thinner and longer.
In the family of seal, the sea elephant is the largest representative. After all, it is impressive. Males sea Elephant weigh up to four tons of northern, and the southern three-ton. They are five, six meter long.
Their female looks like a small fragile deoxide, against the background of their men. Weight, they do not reach even tons. Within the eight hundred nine hundred kilograms. Well, and accordingly twice the length, only two and a half, three meters.
More males and females differ in the color of fur. In males he is a mouse spike. And the legs are dressed in a more dark tone, like earthy. Their fur coat itself consists of short, very thick and rigid porcers.
But from afar, it looks very beautiful. As plush giants, crazy sea depths. What you can not say about the period of molting. Half of winter, the animal is on the shore.
His skin covering covered with bubbles, and worst plates from it. While marine elephants Nothing eat, leaving in the suffering on coastal pebbles. Since the process is quite painful and unpleasant.
An animal loses weight and weakens. But replacing the outfit, how does the sea elephant look like,one look. Struggling already thickened gray marine elephantsright to the sea to restore the strength and replenish the belly.
Mammal males have a great difference from their women, the presence of the so-called trunk. Photos of sea elephantsshow that he hangs on the very edge of the muzzle, covering his mouth.
He all consists of large bugs, as if told cobblestone stones there. There are no female individuals. They have cute faces like plush giant toy. On the nose there are small tough, big sensitivity of the mustache.
Interesting fact about marine elephantsit is that during the marriage period, a male trunk is inflated. Blood comes to it, the muscles begin to shrink, and from thirty centimeter processes, half-meter and more, something.
The head in these animals is small sizes, smoothly flowing in the body. It is small, dark olive eyes. The skin on the neck of marine elephants is very tough and rude. She protects the animal from bites during the marriage duel.
Their huge body ends with a large, twisted as a tail. And in front, instead of the limbs, two fins with large claws.
Lifestyle and habitat of marine elephants
So where do sea elephants live?Northern Listonodi, permanent residents of California and Mexican waters. Even, a hundred years ago, they were on the verge of extinction.
The number of their individuals was no more than a hundred animals. Their barbarus was killed by chaining spears, for the sake of valuable animal fat. In the elephants, he served as a protective fifteen centimeter layer, from ice water.
In the same place, where they were destroyed, and this fat was twisted. His quantity reached millions of kilograms, how many thousands of individuals needed to destroy. Until now, reminding of bitter times, on the shores are placed with algae, litter of birds and rust sudine.
Activists fought hard for saving their population. What you can not say about marine cowswhich disappeared due to poaching fishery. And in the fiftieth years, the last century, they broke up to fifteen thousand individuals.
The southern mammal, he suffered the same fate, they had to flee, settling on the seriously affordable Islands of South Georgia, Marion. So and on the McKorean and a garde island there are a couple of fantastic animals.
The number of individuals in one litter is tens of thousands. The Argentine Peninsula was made by the protected areas, and for the past fifty years, every hunt for animals is prohibited.
And already, in the sixties, biologists undertook to study sea elephants.Contrary to their huge parameters, these animals feel perfectly in water. They swim perfectly, reaching the speed of twenty kilometers per hour.
And what are these divers. After all, the elephant, the first after whales, will be able to plunge on the prey to a depth of two kilometers. Hanging, its nostrils are closed.
And, this is known only about sea elephantsthey control their blood circulation. Immersing everything deeper, blood begins to come only to the heart and brain, without any harm to the animal.
What you can not say about the time of driving on land. In my opinion, this is a whole test for a mammal. After crashing, he is hardly moving in the right direction. The length of his step, just over thirty centimeters.
Therefore, coping with your affairs on the shore, the elephant is very quickly tired. And the first thing that he comes to mind is urgently to sleep. Moreover, their sleep is so strong, and the snoring is so loud that scientists have repeatedly succeeded, without any concern for his life, calculate the frequency of their breathing, listen to the pulse and remove the heart cardiogram.
They have one more unique ability. Incredible, but the elephants are sleeping under water too. Immersing deep into the water, their nostrils are closed. And for fifteen-twenty minutes, the animal sleeps calmly.
Then lungs expand, the body is inflated as balloonAnd the laston foot pops up. The nostrils open, five minutes the animal breathes, then again dives into depths. That's how he sleeps.
Nutrition of the marine elephant
Since the sea elephant is a predatory mammal. That and the main diet consists of fish. Also squid, crayfish and crabs. Adult special, per day can eat the floor of the center of fish. To taste, they are more accurate to shark meat and flesh of the skate.
Very often, in the stomachs of sea elephants are detected by pebbles. Some believe that it is necessary for a ballast, when the elephant is immersed in water. Others, on the contrary, suggest that stones contribute to the mistress, entirely swallowed crustaceans.
But when animals comes marriage, molting, then the elephants do not eat anymore, existing exclusively in the reserves of the fat, which they increased during the fattening period.
Reproduction and life expectancy
Immediately after molting, the time of love comes in the life of the elephants. From the middle of winter and until the middle of spring, the elephants are satisfied with the fights, then be fruit, and put the future offspring on their feet.
All begins, with the location of elephants ashore. Female, being pregnant, since last year. Indeed, for this period, they have to eleven months. The males of elephants no attitude towards the upbringing of the offspring do not have.
Finding a quiet, not a noticeable place, the mother gives birth to only one cub. It appears on the light of meter growth, and weighing up to forty kilograms. A whole month, the mother of the elephant, feeds the child only with his milk.
It has representatives of these individuals, the very calorie. Its fatty fifty percent. The child during feeding, is well gaining in weight. After, the mother leaves his diet forever.
The offspring has a sufficient layer of subcutaneous fat, so that in the next adaptation, independent month of his life, they could survive. Three months old, children leave the rookers and go into open waters.
As soon as the female moves away from his child, the period of marriage battle comes without rules. The largest, and the most senior elephants arrange battles not for life, but to death, for the right to become a sultan of their harem.
The elephants are loudly roared on each other, inflate their trunks and wave them, in the hope that it scares the opponent. Then there are powerful, sharp teeth. The winner gathers ladies near himself. Some harem have both three hundred female individuals.
And the victim, and the whole wounded, goes to the edge of the root. All the same finds a second half, without having a hyper-male authorituit. Regardless, but during such fights, very often suffer, and small kids die, simply not noticing in battle, they have adults.
By collecting his women, the leader chooses his passion, gloating her anterior last on her back. So he rolls out superiority over it. And if the lady is not located to the meeting, the male does not care about this circumstance. He climbs with all his tons to her back. Here resistance is useless.
The half-cold period comes, the younger generation, already by the four years of life in males. Females, from two years of age are ready for mating. For ten years, the individuals of the female sea elephants can give birth to children. Then they are aging. Sea elephants are dying in fifteen, twenty years old.
Despite their own improving sizesSea elephants also become prey for the liquefaction. Sea Leopard. Pursuits even rapid children. But the most terrible enemies, for many centuries, it's no matter how terribly sounds, we are people.
Class: Mammals
Detachment: Listonogy
Family: Real seals
Rod: Marine Elephants
View: Southern Sea Elephant
Southern Sea Elephant (Mirounga Leonina) - Animal family of real seals (Phocidae).
The southern sea elephant is the largest carnival animal of our planet. The males of the Southern Sea Elephant weigh an average of 2.2 litts. up to 4t. and can reach up to 5.8 meters in length. The largest instance among the South Elephants reached 6.85 meters long and weighed about 5 tons.
Interesting Facts:
Southern sea elephants can remain under water for more than twenty minutes.
A documented record for staying under water was approximately two hours. The maximum depth on which the southern sea elephants can be immersed is more than 1,400 meters.
The sea elephants have a long suspension nose, resembling a trunk, so they were called them.
Most of life, more than 80 percent, elephant spends in the ocean
Http://malpme.ru/samye-krupnye-zhivotnye-na-zemle/
The southern sea elephant dwells along the coast of Antarctica and Subarctic Islands. Before the person landed on Antarctica, marine elephants of the veins north than now. The most numerous population lives on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean. Also, the Southern Sea Elephant is located on the islands of Kergelen, Herd, Macquary and the Valdez Peninsula in Argentina.
When the southern sea elephant on land, it is located along the coast on smooth sandy beaches or small rocks. On land are only during the reproduction period and the migrant season, which lasts in the spring 3 - 5 weeks. The rest of the year is spent only in the sea.
Dumorphism is observed not only in size. Men have a big trunk increasing vocalization used to challenge other men. The trunk of the Southern Marine Elephant is slightly less than their northern relatives, hanging over the mouth only 10 cm, compared with 30 cm at the North Marine Elephant.
The southern sea elephants of the male are fought over a few weeks to women and, through vocalization, body positions, and the struggle occupy a certain territory. The best and most large territories Go to the largest and most powerful males. These alpha males become the head of the harem, and with the arrival of women, he may include about 60 females. If there are more women in the harem, then females go to beta males. A man should remain on his territory, protecting it, therefore must do without food for a long time. Lack of food and aggressive collisions with males, energy consumption in the process of mating with a large number of women lead to the physical exhaustion of the male organism. Only males who are in perfect physical condition are able to protect their territory throughout this long time.
If this does not scare the challenger, the fights occur.
As a prize, the winner takes the territory.
The molting process includes the loss of all the fur, which grows over the next 3 - 5 weeks. In addition to the time spent on the ground for breeding and molting, the Southern Sea Elephant lives in a secluded life in waters southern Oceans. Being in the water, marine elephants rarely face each other and thus have no need for communication.
Being in the sea, the southern sea elephant is able to stay under water for two hours, but most of the dives last no more than 30 minutes. It is surprising that between dives on the surface of the water they spend 2 to 3 minutes. Immerse yourself at a depth of 300 - 800 m.
Southern Sea Elephant and Man
In the past on the southern sea elephants hunted for food, leather and fat. This activity It was stopped and now the animal is protected and its prey is made in limited quantities.
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