Question 1

True or false: Northern elephant seals only eat fish, never squid or other cephalopods.

Accepted Answer

False. Their diet includes squid, octopus, and various deep-sea fish like lanternfish and hake.

Question 2

True or false: Males use their trunk-like proboscis to amplify their vocalizations during mating season.

Accepted Answer

True. The large, inflatable nose acts as a resonating chamber, producing loud, guttural roars to assert dominance.

Question 3

True or false: Northern elephant seals migrate twice a year, each trip covering up to 10,000 miles.

Accepted Answer

True. They have one of the longest migrations of any mammal, traveling from California to Alaska and back.

Question 4

True or false: Northern elephant seals are the largest seals in the world, bigger than southern elephant seals.

Accepted Answer

False. Southern elephant seals are larger, with males reaching up to 11,000 pounds, while northern males max out around 5,000 pounds.

Question 5

True or false: Northern elephant seals can hold their breath for over two hours while diving.

Accepted Answer

True. They are champion divers; adult males can stay submerged for up to two hours, reaching depths of 5,000 feet.

Question 6

True or false: They have a thick layer of blubber that keeps them warm in freezing polar waters.

Accepted Answer

False. They lack dense blubber; instead, they rely on a high metabolic rate and countercurrent heat exchange in their flippers.

Question 7

True or false: They can sleep underwater by shutting down half their brain at a time.

Accepted Answer

True. Like some dolphins, they exhibit unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, allowing them to rest while avoiding predators.

Question 8

True or false: Their scientific name, Mirounga angustirostris, means 'narrow-snouted one' in Latin.

Accepted Answer

False. It actually means 'narrow-nosed,' referring to the male's slender trunk, but angustirostris translates to 'narrow beak.'

Northern Elephant Seal Trivia Questions