The Insane Biology of: The Elephant Seal

Images Courtesy of Getty Images

Thanks to our Patreon Supporters:
Sasank Grandhi
Eric Ypsilantis
Robert Thompson
Keith Skipper

Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Stephanie Sammann
Writer: Lorraine Boissoneault

REFERENCES

[What_]

"THE IDEAL MALE BODY"
Oh man my confidence boosting fr

[FutureAIDev]

Resident: "sigh....Neil, you really can't keep doing this..."

Neil: (side eye)

[aaronf]

Beach Master sounds like one of the dad archetypes like the Grill Master. An Eldritch creature in flip flops, cargo shorts, and a bucket hat reminding everyone to wear enough sunscreen.

[salaltschul]

I'm an Aussie and I've always felt for Neil the Seal. He's going back home to fight and mate...but he's alone there.

[gingerfoxx]

I love how Neil the Seal has such a reputation for being the neighborhood bad boy, but the locals just have to accept him to some degree. I hope the future brings a happy outcome for him as well as the locals.

[Sprite_]

5:34 “only 30 to 40 percent of seal pups survive their first dive” that makes me understand why a long-surviving elephant seal is so aggressive, the chill ones probably died on day one!

[greenman]

It's hard not to love Neil the Seal.

On South Georgia, in some places there are still some buildings left. With walls and roof.
Even if the big male elephant seals want to fight each other most of the time, when it is the breeding or moulting time of year, if you look inside those buildings, all you'll find are HUGE male elephant seals.
They clearly like being out of the wind, and perhaps the sun. And no females, pups, or small males are in there. The big males appear to have scared off everyone else, but they're willing to share the space with each other.
It's really surreal looking. Like some nightmare frat.

[a_friendly_idiot]

My sister walked during the "raw sexual aggression" part and said, dang! What are you watching!?

[exiledtobronze]

"7 tons of raw sexual aggression" reminds me of highschool

[hongchan]

6:36 I didn't they could scratch their own head 😂😂😂😂

[LincolnDWard]

I've never seen a seal scratching its head before. That was the wildest part of this whole video for me.

[phila]

If you are in the States, you can see Northern Elephant seals at several locations along the West Coast. The biggest and easiest to see are at Piedras Blancas just north of San Simeon. CA. Also at Ano Nuevo State Reserve just north of Santa Cruz and Point Reyes north of San Francisco. Worth the visit particularly around the new year when the pups are born and the males are fighting over the females. Huge, very impressive animals.

[artawhirler]

Considering their deep diving and huge appetites, I'm surprised they're not covered with scars from Giant Squid like Sperm Whales often are.

[flauschigesbusch]

5:15 omg that seal cried in the perfect moment

[pixelmaster]

16:30 "it becomes greatly elongated during the breeding season, and can then be erected"
lmao, looks like Charles Darwin had fun writing his notes xD

[fikipilot]

Real Science is one of the best storytelling and well researched factual content creators. One of my favorite YouTube channels is Real Science. Real Science is one of the greatest YouTube channels of ALL TIME!!!

[FishareFriendsNotFood]

THE IDEAL MALE gonna send this to my trainer and tell him these are my body goals

[victorialamanova]

Amazing writing, as always.
Really impressed by your story telling, very well structured and engaging, very interesting facts.
Stumbled upon the channel when the video about crows was recommend.

[davidschaftenaar]

I'm so glad this channel took off in the end and is no longer quite so criminally underrated. You've always made great content and reliably teach me something I didn't know with every video.

[lindean]

My spouse has memorized how to make coffee at home for me. We live rural too and order coffee beans because I’m picky. We got a grinder and a nice pot for our registry and as someone who works from home- this has made my job and my life so special. I love coffee, sometimes he surprises me with having it made before I’m up, then I sit down at my desk or studio space and get to mello to life in the morning lol