Southern+Elephant+Seals

__**Southern Elephant Seals **__ Southern elephant seals are very interesting //**pinnipeds**//. Southern Elephant seals are closely related to the Northern elephant seals.

Southern elephant seals can be found in Sub Antarctic and Sub antarctic waters.Southern elephant seals breed on land but spend their winters in the frigid Antarctic waters. Southern elephant seals stay in Antarctic waters because it has so many fish,squid and other marine animals which the elephant seals love!! || || One characteristic is that male elephant seals can weigh up to 8,500 pounds and the females can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Southern elephant seals can be the size of 20 feet or 6 meters. Southern elephant seals can live up to 20 to 22 years unlike Northern elephant seals who live up to about 9 years. Both northern and southern elephant seals can dive in the water and not come back up for 2 hours. heir tremendous bulk is the inflatable trunk-like nose of the male elephant seal..
 * __Southern Elephant Seals Habitat__**
 * Southern elephant seals fit in to their habitat perfectly!
 * __Characteristics of a Southern Elephant Seals__ **
 * Southern elephant seals have very interesting characteristics.

while they swim, and rear flippers used for propulsion.
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__ **Dangers of the Southern Elephant Seal** __
Predators of both the northern and southern elephant seal include the killer whale and various types of sharks. The reason why people are killing elephant seals is because humans want the oils an elephant seal has in it's body and that same problem also connects with northern elephant seals. || ||
 * There are many dangers of the southern elephant seal.

__**Adaptations of the Southern Elephant Seal**__

Southern elephant seals have a thick layer of blubber that sustains them during the breeding season as they do not feed during this time. **//__Hemoglobin__//** in red blood cells carries oxygen, and elephant seals have a lot more red blood cells per unit of blood than other animals. Their red blood cells may, as an adaptation for diving, contain more //**__hemoglobin__**// than normal. These extra red blood cells make elephant seal's blood very thick. Elephant seal muscles are also used to store oxygen. Molecules of oxygen-carrying __//**myoglobin**//__ are present in the muscles and color them black. The analogy of fully charging a battery is sometimes used to describe their ability to take a breath and make the oxygen last for up to two hours. They have a torpedo shape, which accounts for their __//**prowess**//__ in swimming and diving. And an enormous volume of blood in which to store oxygen, which they use very efficiently. Elephant seals even have extra spaces called sinuses in their abdomens to store extra blood. The southern elephant seal’s large eyes indicate that vision is important for hunting in the dark ocean depths . || || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * Southern elephant seals have many interesting adaptations.