The unusual sighting of a South American elephant seal (leonine mirounga) of approximately two tons last Friday (4) intrigued tourists and bathers present at Saco da Ribeira beach, in Ubatuba, on the north coast of São Paulo.
According to the Argonauta Institute, responsible for the daily monitoring of animals on the region’s beaches, the most recent record of this species was recorded in 2007, almost 15 years ago.
Since the beginning of the Santos Basin Beach Monitoring Project in October 2015, a program financed by Petrobras as an environmental condition for oil and gas exploration, this was only the second appearance on beaches across the state.
In July 2016, a female was registered by Ipec (Instituto de Pesquisas de Cananéia).
“Theoretically, the appearance of this solitary individual would be possible almost exclusively in the south of the country. What we found most strange was the location, of course, but mainly the time, as this usually occurs in winter”, says biologist Carla Beatriz Barbosa, coordinator of stretch 10 of the PMP-BS at the Argonauta Institute.
The changes caused by phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, according to the biologist, “may have significantly affected the pattern of currents, but it is something that we will only be able to understand with time and more incidences”.
Among researchers and environmentalists, there may be a link to the fact that some penguins were spotted early by biologists from Udesc (University of the State of Santa Catarina), responsible for part of the monitoring on the coast of Santa Catarina. Generally, they appear on the Brazilian coast only from May.
The elephant seal found is four meters long and is considered a juvenile male. After veterinary evaluations, he remains in place during a period of rest and in the process of molting, a term used for when there is a change of skin and fur.
More recently, a female of the same species was spotted in February in São Sebastião. Subsequently, the animal was only seen again on the coast of Bahia.
Since 2015, there are 19 records entered in the public system of the PMP-BS of elephant seals in the 15 covered stretches between Saquarema, in Rio de Janeiro, and Laguna, in Santa Catarina. Fifteen of them took place in Santa Catarina.
In 2020, Rio de Janeiro had two registered cases, one of them in March when a calf ran aground on Barra da Tijuca beach.
The species is migratory and dives up to a thousand meters deep. Elephant seals feed on almost all types of fish, in addition to squid and octopus. The main predators are white sharks and orcas.
The Argonaut Institute warns that the animal can become aggressive and tries to monitor the place so that there is no attempt to approach human beings during this period.
“If it feels threatened, despite not moving quickly, it can still be very agile on land and even more so in the water. It can be quite aggressive”, explains biologist Carla Beatriz Barbosa.
Local marinas also warned vessels to avoid boats and loud noise near the site.
