It’s not hard to see where elephant seals get their name. Some of these huge mammals, sometimes called sea elephants, weigh as much as four tons. But the name comes not so much from their size, but from the large, fifteen-inch nose of the male. It laps clear over his chin when his mouth is closed. The females only weigh about a ton when full-grown, and their noses are not quite so large.
It is quite a sight to see these orangy-pink or dark-brown, twenty-foot-long bodies stretched out in a huge mass of a thousand or more on a sunny beach. It’s not unusual to see several large seals napping while another, half their size, is taking its nap sprawled across their backs for lack of other space.
The bodies of elephant seals have thick, tough, wrinkled skin, and their faces have long whiskers. Their big flippers take the place of feet and legs, enabling them to move about on the sandy or rocky shores or, on rare occasions, to fight one another. They are excellent swimmers and can dive deeper than most submarines, up to four thousand feet, in their search for fish or other seafood. They have been known to stay underwater a full hour before coming up for air.
Most of these seals live along the California coast, sometimes traveling as far as Alaska or Hawaii, but always returning to the beach where they were born. Some that live on the beaches of Georgia migrate clear across the Atlantic Ocean in the fall to the Orkney Islands north of Scotland. This is where their pups are born and raised and then swim with the parents on the long trip to the United States the next spring. Incidentally, pups are born with their eyes already open and are able to swim immediately.
At certain times great battles take place in the big colonies. Each male (bull) wants to have the greatest number of females (cows) under his care. Most have three to forty cows, and a few bulls may have more than a hundred. The weakest bulls, however, may not have any and live apart from the others.
Mammals such as these, with their unusual appearances and ways, remind us that the Bible says of the Lord God, “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:1111Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)). But He tells us in another verse that His creation of people is extra special: “My delights were with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:3131Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. (Proverbs 8:31)). In this verse we can hear His loving voice saying to you and me, “Hearken unto Me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep My ways” (verse 32). Are you one who is happy to keep His ways?
ML-04/17/2005
APRIL 17, 2005