Human beings shed hair and skin all the time, but elephant seals go through a catastrophic molt, in which the entire layer of epidermis with the hairs attached is sloughed off in one concentrated time. The reason for this abrupt molt is that while at sea they spend most of their time in cold deep water. As part of the dive process the blood is diverted away from the skin. This helps them conserve energy and avoid losing body heat. By coming up on land to molt the blood can be circulated to the skin so a new layer of epidermis and hair can be grown.
Elephant seals are sexually dimorphic, that is the males are much larger than the females.
Female elephant seals give birth for the first time around 4 years old, though the range is between 2-6 years of age. Females are considered physically mature at age 6 with a life expectancy of 20 years. Males enter puberty around 4 years of age, at which time the nose starts to grow. The nose is a secondary sexual characteristic, like a man's beard., and can reach the astonishing length of 2 feet. Males reach physical maturity around 9 years old.