Smithsonian Expedition Killed Rediscovered Seals

By the late 19th century, hunters seeking blubber oil had reduced the northern elephant seal population to perhaps 20 to 40 animals, and people believed the species extinct by 1884. In 1892, a Smithsonian expedition discovered a remnant group of eight seals on Guadalupe Island, Mexico, then killed several for its collections. The remaining seals survived, and Mexico protected the species in 1922. Later protections helped the population recover beyond 200,000, although the severe bottleneck sharply reduced its genetic diversity.

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