Elephant sealsMirounga angustirostris are true seals, or earless seals, members of the pinniped suborder
The elephant seals take their name from the great size of their bodies and the large probosis of the adult males (bulls). That nose is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. The largest known bull elephant seal was 6.7 meters (about 22 feet) in length and weighed 3400 kilograms (three and three quarter tons). Therfore the Elephant seal is the largest member of the order Carnivora that ever lived
In the 1880's northern elephant seals were thought to be extinct, harvested by shore whalers and sealers for their blubber. The oil obtained from elephant seals is second in quality only to the sperm whale. A small group of between 20-100 elephant seals that bred on Guadalupe Island, off Baja California, survived the ravages of the seal hunts. Protected first by Mexico and later by the United States, they have steadily expanded their range. Today they are protected from hunting and harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The total population estimate for northern elephant seals in 2003 is around 150,000
