Did you know it?
Did you know that the elephant seal is a type of seal? The biggest of all, but seal anyway. Males can reach up to almost 4 tons and 5.5m in length, while females are much smaller, with a maximum weight of 900kg and a length of 3m, which we call "sexual dimorphism".
The males are also characterized by their huge noses, the proboscis, which grows as they age, as with humans.
The females have one calf per year and the gestation period lasts 11 months. At birth, the pups weigh around 40 kilos and are black. After 23 days of breastfeeding, the calf already weighs 120 kilos and it is during this period that the mother loses about 14 kilos of weight per day, since she does not go to the sea to feed herself.
The elephant seal´s food is based on fish and it is known that they have been submerged up to 1,800 meters deep in search of food.
On the coast of Patagonia we can find some elephant farms, but our efforts are focused on the Dos Pozos Foundation, within Estancia La Antonieta, where the first 10 individuals were discovered in 2009. Since then, the number of harems has grown substantially and today more than five harems have been geo-differentiated, each with 14 females.
At Slow & Steady Travel we support a project in each destination. On the Patagonian coast of Chubut, we chose Fundação Dos Pozos, which works to protect and care for of this species and where we go on our expeditions, knowing that every grain of sand counts.
In our photography workshop in November you can see and photograph this and many other species of Patagonian fauna. We wait for you!
Info: info@slowandsteadytravel.com