Elephant seal pup scratches its face with its foreflipper, Mirounga angustirostris

Elephant seal pup scratches its face with its foreflipper. Note the five "fingernails" on the flipper. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA, Mirounga angustirostris, natural history stock photograph, photo id 20404Add To Light Table
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Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight in the surf for access for mating females that are in estrous. Such fighting among elephant seals can take place on the beach or in the water. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA. Image #20369
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Elephant seal pup scratches its face with its foreflipper. Note the five "fingernails" on the flipper. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food. Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA

Stock Photo: 20404
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California, USA
Other Names: elefante marino, sea elephant, sea cow
Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide.
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Keywords: angustirostris, animal, animalia, california, caniformia, carnivora, carnivore, chordata, creature, elefante marino, elephant seal, endangered, endangered threatened species, juvenile pup, mammal, mammalia, marine, marine mammal, mirounga, mirounga angustirostris, monterey bay national marine sanctuary, national marine sanctuaries, nature, northern elephant seal, ocean, phocid, phocidae, piedras blancas, pinniped, pinnipedia, san simeon, sea cow, sea elephant, seal, threatened, usa, vertebrata, vertebrate, wildlife

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