First records of Elephant Seals in the Colombian Pacific: Southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina?

• Published in: New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
• Main Authors: Avila, Isabel Cristina, Trujillo, Gustavo Alberto, Alava, Juan José
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Facultad de Ciencias - Instituto de Ciencias Naturales 2021
• Subjects: mamífero marino; migración; Pacífico Sudeste; Phocidae; pinnípedo; Ecología; marine mammal; migration; pinniped; Southeast Pacific; Ecology; Southern Ocean; Pacific; Sudeste; The Beaches; Antarc*; Antarctica; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Southern Elephant Seal; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal/article/view/84687

The first records of elephant seals, likely southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, are reported for the Colombian Pacific coast. A juvenile elephant seal was registered on the beaches of Piangüita and Magüipi (Valle del Cauca), from January 23-25, 2018. On 22 February 2018, a male juvenile, presumably the same animal, was also reported further north on the beaches of Guachalito (Chocó). Then, a group of three individuals was sighted on the beach of El Medio, the mouth of the Yurumanguí River (Valle del Cauca) from 29 December, 2019 to 20 January 2020; this sighting was confirmed on January 3, 2020, by recording a subadult male individual apparently in healthy body condition. Also, a dead subadult in advanced state of decomposition was found in the river Guapi in January 8, 2021. These sightings are among the most northern extralimital records for this species with a large displacement covering 5000–8000 Km from its normal distributional range that includes southern Chile and Antarctica. The presence of the southern elephant seal in the Colombian Pacific had not been documented, and the arrival of this species could be linked to the search for food and the influence of eco-physiological processes, as well as the impact of the ENSO and ongoing environmental changes in the Southern Ocean. Se registraron los primeros avistamientos de elefantes marinos, probablemente elefantes marinos del sur, Mirounga leonina, en la costa Pacífica de Colombia. Un juvenil macho fue registrado en las playas de Piangüita y Magüipi (Valle del Cauca), del 23 al 25 de enero de 2018. Días después, el 22 de febrero de 2018, se reportó un juvenil macho, aparentemente el mismo individuo, más al norte en la playa de Guachalito (Chocó). Luego, entre el 29 de diciembre de 2019 y el 20 de enero 2020, en la playa de El Medio, desembocadura del río Yurumanguí (Valle del Cauca), se avistó un grupo de tres individuos subadultos; este avistamiento fue confirmado el 3 de enero de 2020, al registrar un individuo subadulto macho aparentemente en ...