The Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult males (bulls) which resembles an elephant's trunk. The bull's proboscis is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. More importantly, however, the nose acts as a sort of rebreather, filled with cavities designed to reabsorb moisture from the animals' exhalations. This is important during the mating season when the male seals rarely leave the beach to feed and therefore must conserve body moisture as they have no incoming source of water. Bulls of the Northern Elephant Seal reach a length of 16 ft and a weight of 6,000 ibs and are much larger than the female (cows).
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Elephant seals spend upwards of 80 percent of their lives in the ocean. They can hold their breath for more than 100 minutes longer than any other non-cetacean mammal.
The average depth of their dives is about 2,000 ft, typically for around 20 min and up to 60 min (1 hour) for males, as they search for their favorite foods, which are s, rays, squid, octopuses, eels and small sharks. Their stomachs also often contain gastroliths. While excellent swimmers, they are also capable of rapid movement on land, where they have a higher speed than the average human when moving over sand dunes. The average life expectancy of a male elephant seal is 20 years.