Elephant seals are tracked with electronic instruments for a variety of reasons, including where they travel and feed during their foraging migrations, how they expertly navigate through the ocean, how much they are able to eat during foraging trips, how they avoid predators like white sharks and killer whales, and even how they sleep.

Seals are not considered critically endangered, although there are a number of threats they face in the wild, including hunting, marine debris (including microplastics), entanglement, and boat collisions.

Elephant seals in particular were nearly hunted to extinction for their oil in the 1800s; today their numbers have rebounded thanks to legal protections and the help of those like our partners at the Beltran Lab at UCSC.

• Each order helps support The Sloth Conservation Foundation
• Sizing: Elastic, one size fits most

While the experience of following an animal’s journey remains the same for you, we work behind the scenes with our partners to ensure this experience is presented in a way that keeps the animals safe, one step or splash at a time.