Skip to main content
Unsupported Browser Detected

Internet Explorer lacks support for the features of this website. For the best experience, please use a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Mail |
SITE INDEX
CONTACT US
NOAA Fisheries Home Logo
Menu
  • Find a Species
      • Find a Species
      • By Species
      • Fish & Sharks
      • Sea Turtles
      • Whales
      • Seals & Sea Lions
      • Dolphins & Porpoises
      • Corals
      • All Species
      • More Information
      • Viewing Marine Life
      • Species in the Spotlight
      • Endangered Species
      • News & Announcements
  • Fishing & Seafood
      • Fishing & Seafood
      • Fishing
      • Sustainable Fisheries
      • Resources for Fishing
      • Commercial Fishing
      • Recreational Fishing
      • Subsistence Fishing
      • Seafood
      • Sustainable Seafood
      • Aquaculture
      • Commerce & Certification
      • More Information
      • Permits
      • Rules & Regulations
      • Management Plans
      • Bycatch
      • Fishery Observers
      • Population Assessments
      • Socioeconomics
      • International
      • Enforcement
  • Protecting Marine Life
      • Protecting Marine Life
      • Endangered Species Conservation
      • Marine Mammal Protection
      • Marine Life in Distress
      • Viewing Marine Life
      • More Information
      • Laws & Policies
      • Permits
      • ESA Consultations
      • Bycatch
      • Population Assessments
      • International
      • Enforcement
  • Environment
      • Environment
      • Ecosystems
      • Habitat Conservation
      • Climate
      • More Information
      • Habitat Consultations
      • Socioeconomics
  • Regions
      • Regions
      • Alaska
      • New England/Mid-Atlantic
      • Pacific Islands
      • Southeast
      • West Coast
  • Resources
      • Resources
      • Rules & Regulations
      • Permits
      • Publications
      • Laws & Policies
      • Science & Data
      • Outreach & Education
  • Services
      • Services
      • Funding & Financial Services
      • Permits
      • Consultations
      • Enforcement
      • Seafood Inspection
  • About Us
      • About Us
      • About NOAA Fisheries
      • News & Announcements
      • Event Calendar
      • Our Partners
      • Careers & More
      • Video Gallery
      • Contact Us
  • More
      • Resources
      • Rules & Regulations
      • Permits
      • Publications
      • Laws & Policies
      • Science & Data
      • Outreach & Education
      • Services
      • Funding & Financial Services
      • Permits
      • Consultations
      • Enforcement
      • Seafood Inspection
      • About Us
      • About NOAA Fisheries
      • News & Announcements
      • Event Calendar
      • Our Partners
      • Careers & More
      • Video Gallery
      • Contact Us
    • Find a Species
        Back
        Explore Find a Species
      • By Species
      • Fish & Sharks
      • Sea Turtles
      • Whales
      • Seals & Sea Lions
      • Dolphins & Porpoises
      • Corals
      • All Species
        • More Information
        • Viewing Marine Life
        • Species in the Spotlight
        • Endangered Species
        • News & Announcements
    • Fishing & Seafood
        Back
        Explore Fishing & Seafood
      • Fishing
      • Sustainable Fisheries
      • Resources for Fishing
      • Commercial Fishing
      • Recreational Fishing
      • Subsistence Fishing
      • Seafood
      • Sustainable Seafood
      • Aquaculture
      • Commerce & Certification
        • More Information
        • Permits
        • Rules & Regulations
        • Management Plans
        • Bycatch
        • Fishery Observers
        • Population Assessments
        • Socioeconomics
        • International
        • Enforcement
    • Protecting Marine Life
        Back
        Explore Protecting Marine Life
      • Endangered Species Conservation
      • Marine Mammal Protection
      • Marine Life in Distress
      • Viewing Marine Life
        • More Information
        • Laws & Policies
        • Permits
        • ESA Consultations
        • Bycatch
        • Population Assessments
        • International
        • Enforcement
    • Environment
        Back
        Explore Environment
      • Ecosystems
      • Habitat Conservation
      • Climate
        • More Information
        • Habitat Consultations
        • Socioeconomics
    • Regions
        Back
        Explore Regions
      • Alaska
      • New England/Mid-Atlantic
      • Pacific Islands
      • Southeast
      • West Coast
    • Resources
        Back
        Explore Resources
      • Rules & Regulations
      • Permits
      • Publications
      • Laws & Policies
      • Science & Data
      • Outreach & Education
    • Services
        Back
        Explore Services
      • Funding & Financial Services
      • Permits
      • Consultations
      • Enforcement
      • Seafood Inspection
    • About Us
        Back
        Explore About Us
      • About NOAA Fisheries
      • News & Announcements
      • Event Calendar
      • Our Partners
      • Careers & More
      • Video Gallery
      • Contact Us
Species Directory

Northern Elephant Seal

Overview Conservation & Management Science

Northern Elephant Seal

Mirounga angustirostris

Northern elephant seal illustration

Protected Status

MMPA Protected
Throughout Its Range

Quick Facts

Weight
1,300 to 4,400 pounds
Lifespan
13 to 19 years
Length
10 to 13 feet
Threats
Entanglement in fishing gear, Vessel strikes, Marine debris
Region
Alaska, West Coast
See Regulatory Actions
Northern elephant seal males

About The Species

The northern elephant seal is the largest of the “true” seal in the Northern Hemisphere. Adult males use their large, inflatable noses during the winter breeding season to resonate sound when vocally threatening each other. The largest colonies of northern elephant seals are found off southern California in the Channel Islands. They have one of the longest migrations of any mammal, some have been recorded traveling over 13,000 miles roundtrip.

Northern elephant seals were once thought to be extinct due to commercial sealing in the 1800s. Populations of northern elephant seals in the U.S. and Mexico were all originally derived from a few hundred individuals surviving in Mexico. Its population began to steadily increase in the early 1900s.

Northern elephant seals, like all marine mammals, are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

Status

Though a complete population count of elephant seals is not possible because all age classes are not ashore at the same time, the most recent stock assessment reports with population estimates are available.

Protected Status

MMPA Protected

  • Throughout Its Range

Appearance

Northern elephant seal pups are black until they are weaned at about 6 weeks old and they molt and turn light silver. Adults are dark brown or gray.

When males reach puberty at about 7 years old, they develop a large inflatable nose, or "proboscis." The proboscis overhangs their lower lip by about 8 inches. They also develop a robust, thick neck that is heavily creased and lighter in color than their dark bodies. Conversely, females maintain their smaller noses and smooth necks.

Fully grown males can reach lengths of over 13 feet and can weigh nearly 4,400 pounds. Females are significantly smaller than males, but are also quite large growing to about 10 feet long and weighing up to 1,300 pounds.

Behavior and Diet

Northern elephant seals have a diet of mostly squid and fishes, but also rays and sharks.

Northern elephant seals spend much of the year, generally about 9 months, in the ocean. They are usually underwater, diving to depths of about 1,000 to 2,500 feet for 20 to 30 minute intervals with only short breaks at the surface. They are rarely seen out at sea for this reason. While on land, they prefer sandy beaches.

They fast during mating season and can lose up to 36 percent of their body weight during this time. When molting occurs, they shed their short, dense fur along with large patches of old skin. Molting takes 4 to 5 weeks to complete.

Where They Live

Northern elephant seals are found in the eastern and central North Pacific Ocean. Though they range as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico, they typically breed in the Channel Islands of California or Baja California in Mexico. Northern elephant seals breed and give birth in California and Baja California, primarily on offshore islands from December to March. Males feed near the eastern Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska, and females feed further south, in the offshore waters of Washington and Oregon. Adults return to land between March and August to molt, with males returning later than females. Adults return to their feeding areas again between the spring/summer molt and the winter breeding season.

Northern elephant seal range map

World map providing approximate representation of the northern elephant seal's range.

Lifespan & Reproduction

Pups are born in early winter from December to January. Breeding occurs from December to March, and gestation lasts around 11 months. Northern elephant seals are "polygamous”- males establish dominance over large groups of females during the breeding season.

There is a notable difference in lifespan between males and females. Females generally live for about 19 years, while males only live for about 13 years.

These animals are polygynous breeders with a social hierarchy. Males form harems usually when they are 9 to 10 years of age, battling for status. Adult males use their large, inflatable noses during the winter breeding season to resonate sound when vocally threatening each other.

Females come ashore and within a few days give birth to a pup conceived in the previous breeding season. The pups are weaned for about a month and just before her pup leaves she breeds again and then returns to sea.

Threats

Entanglement in Fishing Gear

Northern elephant seals can become entangled in fishing gear, either swimming off with the gear attached or becoming anchored. Once entangled, seals may drag and swim with attached gear for long distances, ultimately resulting in fatigue, compromised feeding ability, or severe injury, which may lead to reduced reproductive success and death.

Vessel Strikes

Inadvertent vessel strikes can injure or kill seals. The projected increase in ship traffic arising from the opening of trans-polar shipping routes (as arctic sea ice continues to decline) will increase the risk of vessel strikes, and also increase ambient noise and pollution.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Phocidae
Genus Mirounga
Species angustirostris

What We Do

Conservation & Management

NOAA Fisheries is committed to protecting northern elephant seals. Targeted management actions taken to protect these seals include:

  • Consulting with federal agencies to ensure proposed actions are not likely to jeopardize elephant seals due to the effects of entanglement in fishing gear or other stressors.

  • Minimizing harassment and illegal feeding.

  • Overseeing marine mammal health and stranding response.

  • Educating the public about northern elephant seals and the threats they face.

Learn more about our conservation efforts

Science

Our research projects have discovered new aspects of northern elephant seal biology, behavior, and ecology and helped us better understand the challenges that all elephant seals face. Our work includes:

  • Population assessments.

  • Vital rates (survival and reproduction).

  • Foraging ecology.

  • Diet studies.

  • Health and condition.

  • Disease and contaminants.

Learn more about our research

How You Can Help

Marine Life In Distress

Report Marine Life in Distress

Report a sick, injured, entangled, stranded, or dead animal to make sure professional responders and scientists know about it and can take appropriate action. Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond.

Learn who you should contact when you encounter a stranded or injured marine animal

Wildlife Viewing icon

Keep Your Distance

Be responsible when viewing marine life in the wild. Observe all seals and sea lions from a safe distance of at least 50 yards and limit your time spent observing to 30 minutes or less.

Learn more about our marine life viewing guidelines >

Report a Violation

Report a Violation

Call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 to report a federal marine resource violation. This hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days week for anyone in the United States.

You may also contact your closest NOAA Office of Law Enforcement field office during regular business hours.


Related Species

Bearded seal illustration

Bearded Seal

Spotted seal illustration.

Spotted Seal

Ringed seal illustration.

Ringed Seal

Harbor seal illustration

Harbor Seal

Management Overview

Northern elephant seals are protected throughout their range under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries is working to protect this species in many ways, with the goal that populations remain stable and do not fall to depleted or threatened levels.

750x500-northern-elephant-seal-juvenile.png

Northern elephant seal juvenile. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Tony Orr.


Conservation Efforts

Minimizing Harassment and Illegal Feeding

As human interactions with seals and sea lions increase, so does the risk of disturbing or injuring these animals. For seals and sea lions that rest on our beaches, close encounters with people are harmful. Continued disturbances may cause mothers to abandon their pups. This species will haul out during molting season and may stay in the same area for weeks at a time. When they are molting they look like they are in very poor shape, but this is normal. Please do not pour water on these animals or attempt to approach!

Learn more about how to safely and responsibly view seals and sea lions

Learn more about the rules regarding feeding and harassing marine mammals in the wild

Reducing Interactions with Fishing Gear

Northern elephant seals can get entangled in fishing gear, causing injury and possibly death. NOAA Fisheries is working to better understand and characterize the frequency, geographic extent, and magnitude of these interactions. We are also working with researchers to identify and evaluate ways to safely and effectively reduce the potential for these interactions.

Learn more about bycatch and fisheries interactions

Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response

We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and its partners assess the animal’s health and try to return it to the water. When stranded animals are found dead—as is usually the case—our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes identify strandings due to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare.

Learn more about the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program


Key Actions and Documents

Actions & Documents Incidental Take

Incidental Take Authorization: Ferry Terminal Construction at Seaplane Lagoon, Alameda, CA

NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the City of Alameda to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during pile driving and removal activities during construction of a ferry terminal at
  • Notice of Final IHA
  • Notice of Proposed IHA
Notice
,
West Coast
Effective
08/20/2019

Incidental Take Authorization: Renewal of Washington Department of Transportation Dolphin Relocation at Bremerton Ferry Terminal

NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) Renewal to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to incidentally harass marine mammals incidental to the dolphin (a man-made structure that protects other
  • Notice of Final Renewal IHA
  • Notice of Proposed Renewal IHA
  • Notice of Original IHA
Notice
,
West Coast
Effective
08/08/2019

Incidental Take Authorization: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment, marine mammals during seismic activities associated with a marine
  • Notice of Final IHA
  • Notice of Proposed IHA
Notice
Published
06/10/2019

Incidental Take Authorization: Washington State Department of Transportation Seattle Multimodal Construction Project, Seattle, Washington (2019)

NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to the Seattle Multimodal Project at Colman Dock
  • Notice of Final IHA
  • Notice of Proposed IHA
Notice
,
West Coast
Effective
08/01/2019
  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • …
  • Next

More Information

  • Marine Mammal Permits and Authorizations
  • How to Report a Stranding
  • Marine Mammal Protection
  • Marine Life Viewing Guidelines

Science

NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the northern elephant seal. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions and ensure stable population levels for this species.

Population/Stock Assessments

Determining the number of northern elephant seals in each population—and whether a stock is increasing or decreasing over time—helps resource managers assess the success of enacted conservation measures. Our scientists collect information and present these data in annual stock assessment reports. 

Additional Research

Scientists in our Marine Mammal Laboratory conduct wide-ranging research on the biology, life history, and health of northern elephant seals including:

  • Vital rates (survival and reproduction).

  • Distribution and migration.

  • Diet/foraging ecology.

  • Threats such as disease, contaminants,and entanglement.

Learn about our northern elephant seal research

750x500-northern-elephant-seal-sand.png

Northern elephant seal cools off in the sun with cold sand. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Eric Boerner.

More Information

  • Population Assessments
  • Climate
  • Scientific Research Permitting
Scroll to Top Icon
Sign up for our newsletter
Stay informed of all the latest regional news around NOAA Fisheries
Sign Up Now!
  • NOAA Fisheries
    • About Us
    • Laws & Policies
    • FishWatch
    • NOAA
    • Department of Commerce
    • Site Index
  • For Fishermen
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Permits & Forms
    • Commercial Fishing
    • Recreational Fishing
    • Fishery Observers
  • For Researchers
    • Published Research
    • Science & Data
    For Employees
    • Inside Fisheries
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Media Inquiries
    • Report a Violation
    • Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal
    • NOAA Staff Directory
Follow Us
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Youtube
Can't Find What You Need?
Tour Our Site
How are we doing? Send us your feedback
NOAA Logo
Science. Service. Stewardship.
Accessibility
|
EEO
|
FOIA
|
Information Quality
|
Policies & Disclaimer
|
Privacy Policy
|
USA.gov