elephant seal
noun
: either of two very large seals (genus Mirounga of the family Phocidae) characterized by a long inflatable proboscis:
a
: one (M. angustirostris) found in Pacific coastal waters from southeastern Alaska to Baja California
b
: one (M. leonina) found in coastal waters of subantarctic islands and Patagonia
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For instance, one study from the 1970s demonstrated that this kind of lifestyle, merely chowing down on fish, allows for enough hydration that elephant seal pups don’t even need a sip of fresh water to stay healthy.
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Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 18 Mar. 2026
Patrick Robinson, the Año Nuevo reserve director, and a marine biologist at UC Santa Cruz, said 47 elephant seals on the mainland have died since the outbreak began, and the wildlife team is finding two new symptomatic and two dead animals every day.
—Susanne Rust
follow, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Threats to the environment and wildlife are still ever-present — a new highly pathogenic avian influenza has just hit the state, McGuire said, making birds and now elephant seals in Northern California sick.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
Facts about elephant seals—a bull’s responsibility to impregnate his harem of females, birthing and nursing—though presented scientifically, put the children in a state of wild glee that a thousand-year-old redwood tree or a century-old lighthouse could not induce.
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
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Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 18 Mar. 2026
Patrick Robinson, the Año Nuevo reserve director, and a marine biologist at UC Santa Cruz, said 47 elephant seals on the mainland have died since the outbreak began, and the wildlife team is finding two new symptomatic and two dead animals every day.
—Susanne Rust
follow, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Threats to the environment and wildlife are still ever-present — a new highly pathogenic avian influenza has just hit the state, McGuire said, making birds and now elephant seals in Northern California sick.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
Facts about elephant seals—a bull’s responsibility to impregnate his harem of females, birthing and nursing—though presented scientifically, put the children in a state of wild glee that a thousand-year-old redwood tree or a century-old lighthouse could not induce.
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elephant seal
Cite this Entry
“Elephant seal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant%20seal. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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