Northern Elephant Seal

Mirounga angustirostris

Despite this skeleton’s size, it is not the largest length this species can attain. This particular animal washed ashore near Cape Perpetua, and the body was put into a horse manure compost pit to facilitate cleaning the bones. Because this is a deep-diving species, it is also very oily, which poses a challenge for cleaning and preparing the bones for articulation.
There was a shark bite on the right front flipper, which appears to have happened when the seal was younger.
The sternum was also in pieces. A flexible sternum is an adaptation for deep-diving animals. It allows the lungs and ribs to collapse for deep diving and helps to combat nitrogen narcosis.
This is a dynamic mount, meaning the position of the bones is intended to show the typical side-to-side swimming movement of northern elephant seals.
Notice the very stout humerus. These strong bones allow males to prop themselves up when they lunge at each other during fights for females or territory.

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Adult Size: These animals can weigh up to 4,400 pounds and grow to 13 feet. Mature males get much larger than females.
Life Span: 13 years for males and 19 years for females.
Feeding Habits: Their diet is mostly squid and fish. They spend most of their time in the ocean, diving up to 2,500 feet for as much as 30 minutes, with only short breaks at the surface. These are the deepest diving pinniped.
Mating and Offspring: Males form harems and fight other males for females and territories.They breed and give birth in California from the Channel Islands to the central California coast. Their gestation is around 11 months. The young are born from December to January. Pups are weaned after about 30 days, and just before females go back out to sea, they breed again.
Frequency and Abundance Oregon Coast: Females prefer relatively warmer waters of Washington and Oregon, while the males range further north. These seals prefer sandy beaches when they come ashore.