UPDATED: 2007-01-12

Pinnipeds, like other mammals, must replace old skin and hair. Most animals shed hairs year-around, but elephant seals do it all at once. The molting process is so abrupt that it is called a 'catastrophic molt'. During the spring and summer months, elephant seals return to their rookeries for an annual molts: April to May - females and juveniles, May to June - subadult males, July to August - adult males.

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