“Displacement” sand flipping in the northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris)

Abstract

In a pre- and posttest design an attempt was made to quantify sand flipping in the behaviorally aroused Northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris ). Following pretest a seal was approached by the experimenter in order to induce a conflict between attack and escape tendencies. Sand flipping occurred more frequently when a seal was aroused than when it was resting regardless of the amount of solar radiation, degree of wetness, wind speed, etc.