World's Largest Seal

by Guy Belleranti

In the freezing ocean waters of

Antarctica, the planet's largest seals make their
home in a frozen world. These giants are
southern elephant seals, and they can grow as
long as the length of a car and weigh as much
as two cars combined. The name “elephant
seal” comes from both the males' enormous
size and from their giant trunk-like nose, called
a proboscis. Females do not have a proboscis
and they are much smaller.
A thick layer of blubber keeps southern
elephant seals warm in their icy habitat. The seals are clumsy on land, but in water they’re
graceful swimmers and incredible divers. They can easily dive 1,000 to 4,000 feet to hunt for
squid, octopus, and various kinds of fish. Elephant seals are able to stay underwater for 20
minutes or more. The longest underwater session researchers observed is an amazing two
hours! When they return to the surface to breathe, it’s only for a few minutes. Then they dive
again.

Males While elephant seals spend most of their time swimming,

arrive before they also gather on beaches in groups called colonies. One

females. They reason they come to land is to give birth and breed. . Raising

battle for their enormous bodies, the males inflate their snouts and

dominance, bellow. Usually, these confrontations end quickly. However,

deciding who sometimes only a physical battle can settle the matter.

will have large These fights can be bloody, but permanent injury is rare.

harems of Females arriving on land give birth to a single pup they’ve been
carrying since the previous year.
females
Newborns weigh about 90 pounds. The mother nurses her pup
for a little over three weeks. After this, she breeds with a dominant male and then returns to
the sea to feed. Her pup now weighs well over 200 pounds and is on its own. If it survives, it
too will enter the sea within a couple of months.
A second reason elephant seals come to land is to molt. When they molt, they shed old skin
and fur and new skin and fur grows.
A smaller species, the northern elephant seal, lives in the Pacific Ocean, dispersed from
 Baja,
California to Alaska. Both northern and southern elephant seals were once hunted
nearly to extinction. However, under legal protections both have made incredible
comebacks.
How does an elephant seal obtain its food? What foods are a of part an elephant seal's diet? ,996

World's Largest Seal

by Guy Belleranti

1. Based on the information in the article, describe how an elephant seal's

movements are different on land than in the water.

On land, an elephant seal is clumsy and has a difficult time moving around, but in the water,

an elephant seal moves easily and gracefully.

2. Why do male elephant seals arrive on land before females during the breeding season?

Males arrive before females. They battle for dominance, deciding who will have large
harems of females+
large harems of females.

3. According to the information in the article, describe two reasons why elephant seals come on land.

These large animals spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to molt, give birth,

and mate.

4. How does an elephant seal obtain its food? What foods are a part of an elephant seal's diet?

Northern elephant seals' diet primarily consists of squid and fishes, but they also consume

rays and sharks.

5. Based on what you read in the article, are elephant seals in danger of becoming extinct today?
Why or why not?

Today, elephant seals are not in danger of becoming extinct. This is because laws are now

in place to protect their populations.

 World's Largest Seal
by Guy Belleranti

Fill in the missing letters to create a vocabulary word from the

article. Then write the full word on the line. Be sure you spell
each word correctly.

1. enormous
hint: extremely large

2. dominance
hint: power or superiority over others

3. clumsy
hint: awkward; ungainly

4. permanent

hint: lasting indefinitely

5. colonies

hint: groups of elephant seals

6. extinction

hint: disappearance from the planet

7. Blubber

hint: fatty tissue that helps sea mammals stay warm

8. BELLOW

hint: make a loud roaring sound

World's Largest Seal

by Guy Belleranti

In the article, “World's Largest Seal,” you learned that southern

elephant seals reside in the icy waters of Antarctica.

Choose another animal species that lives in Antarctica. Using the

Internet, with your teacher's permission, research five interesting
facts about the animal you choose. Describe what you learned on
the lines below. Be sure to include the website address where you
learned the information about your animal species.

chinstrap penguin
chinstrap penguin, (Pygoscelis antarctica), also called ringed penguin or bearded
penguin, species of penguin (order Sphenisciformes) characterized by a cap of
black plumage on the top of the head, a white face, and a fine, continuous band of
black feathers that extends from one side of the head to the other across each cheek and
under the chin. The common name of the species derives from the presence of this
“chinstrap” of black feathers. Other distinguishing features include a fine ring of black skin
around each eye and a black bill. The species inhabits the northern part of the Antarctic
Peninsula and several Antarctic and subantarctic islands. The largest concentrations of
these birds are found in breeding colonies along the coasts of the South Orkney Islands,
the South Shetland Islands, and the South Sandwich Islands. Breeding colonies also occur
on the Antarctic Peninsula and on the Bailley Islands between Antarctica and New Zealand.
Fun Facts
1. Chinstrap penguins may be the most abundant penguin, with a population estimated

at 7.5 million breeding pairs.

2. Chinstraps can reach depths of 70 m (230 ft), but most dives are less than 45 m (148

ft).

3. Most dives last between 20–30 seconds.

4. Chinstrap penguins are decreasing in numbers in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Scientists are looking to

climate change for the answers.

5. These birds are referred to as “stonebreaker penguins,” not because they collect stones for nests, but because

their screech is so piercing that it is said to break stones.

6. Outside of the breeding season, chinstrap penguins often congregate on icebergs.

7. The largest chinstrap penguin colony is on Zavodovski Island in the South Sandwich Islands, with

approximately two million chinstraps breeding on the slopes of the volcanic island. 

8. Chinstrap penguins can lose half their weight during the breeding season, since they take turns staying with the

eggs and chicks for days at a time while the other parent goes off to hunt.

9. Pygoscelis  means “rump-legged.”

Website I used for reference: https://www.britannica.com/facts/chinstrap-penguin, 1,2,3 points:

https://seaworld.org/, 4,5,6,7,8,9 points: https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/to-do/wildlife/chinstrap-
penguin.
LD