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How to Help Elephant Seals

Elephant seals are large, social and often, in the case of the males, extremely vocal animals. The two species of elephant seals, the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal, were hunted to the edge of extinction in the 19th century for their blubber. Fortunately, the populations of both have recovered since becoming protected species. To help keep it this way, you can do your part by behaving responsibly around elephant seals and minimizing your impact on the oceans.

Instructions

- 1
  Keep your distance when viewing colonies of elephant seals and always keep dogs on leashes around wildlife. Apart from stressing the seals, getting close to them is highly dangerous for you, or your dog. Elephant seals are large and potentially dangerous wild animals.
- 2
  Keep to or below the speed limit when using watercraft and don't harass elephant seals or any other marine mammals by trying to get close to them.
- 3
  Reduce water pollution. Use low-phosphate detergents, clean up break-fluid oil or anti-freeze spills from your car, choose organic food when possible and keep your septic tank maintained. Household and agricultural pollutants wash first into rivers and streams and then end up in the ocean, where they impact all marine life.
- 4
  Reduce plastic use, especially plastic bags. Use reusable bags and recycle other plastic waste. Plastic items regularly end up in the oceans where they choke and entangle marine animals. Seals might be especially vulnerable because of their tendency, especially when young, to play with floating plastic items. According to the Committee on Shipborne Waste, tens of thousands of seals a year die from becoming entangled in plastic debris, including elephant seals.

Animals & Science