Description
Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult male (bull) which resembles an elephant's trunk. The bull's proboscis is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. More importantly, however, the nose acts as a sort of rebreather, filled with cavities designed to reabsorb moisture from the animals' exhalations . This is important during the mating season when the seals do not leave the beach to feed, so must conserve body moisture as they have no incoming source of water. Southern elephant seal bulls reach a length of 16 feet (4.9 m) and a weight of 6,600 pounds (3,000 kg), and are much larger than the cows, which typically measure about 10 feet (3.0 m) and 2,000 pounds (910 kg). Northern elephant seal bulls reach a length of 14 to 16 ft (4.3 to 4.9 m) and the heaviest weigh about 5400 lbs (2455 kg).
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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