Comprehension
In the freezing ocean waters of Antarctica, the planet’s
largest seals make their home in a frozen world. These
giants are southern elephant seals, and they can grow
as long as the length of a car and weigh as much as two
cars combined. The name “elephant seal” comes from
both the males’ enormous size and from their giant
trunk-like nose, called a proboscis. Females do not
have a proboscis, and they are much smaller.
A thick layer of blubber keeps southern elephant seals
warm in their icy habitat. The seals are clumsy on
land, but in water they’re graceful swimmers and
incredible divers. They can easily dive 1,000 to 4,000
feet to hunt for squid, octopus, and various kinds of
fish. Elephant seals are able to stay underwater for 20
minutes or more. The longest underwater session
researchers observed was an amazing two hours!
When they return to the surface to breathe, it’s only
for a few minutes. Then they dive again. While
elephant seals spend most of their time swimming,
they also gather on beaches in groups called colonies.
One reason they come to land is to give birth and
breed. Males arrive before females. They battle for
dominance, deciding who will have large harems of
females. Raising their enormous bodies, the males
inflate their snouts and bellow. Usually, these
confrontations end quickly. However, sometimes only a
physical battle can settle the matter. These fights can
be bloody, but permanent injury is rare.
Females arriving on land give birth to a single pup
they’ve been carrying since the previous year.
Newborns weigh about 90 pounds. The mother nurses
her pup for a little over three weeks. After this, she
breeds with a dominant male and then returns to the
sea to feed. Her pup now weighs well over 200 pounds
and is on its own. If it survives, it too will enter the sea
within a couple of months. A second reason elephant
seals come to land is to molt. When they molt, they
shed old skin and fur and new skin and fur grows. A
smaller species, the northern elephant seal, lives in the
Pacific Ocean, dispersed from Mexico’s Baja
California to Alaska.
Both northern and southern elephant seals were once
hunted nearly to extinction. However, under legal
protections, both have made incredible comebacks.
Q: Answer the following questions:
1. Based on the information in the article, describe how an
elephant seal’s movements are different on land than in
water. (3)
2. Why do male elephant seals arrive on land before females
during breeding season? (2)
3. Describe two reasons why elephant seals come on land. (2)
4. How does an elephant seal obtain its food? What foods are
a part of its diet? (2)
5. Based on what you read in the article, are elephant seals in
danger of becoming extinct today? Why or why not? (3)
Writing Marks:3
Total Marks: 15 Obtained Marks:12
