The biggest seal
A big male weighs as much as two cars: more than any land animal except an elephant.
Antarctic ice
Southern elephant seal
Mirounga leonina
The biggest seal in the world. The male has a floppy nose like a short trunk.
- Size
- Males up to 5m long and 3 tonnes or more
- Look for it
- September to December, then January to March
- Where
- Islands of the Southern Ocean and the edge of Antarctica
Heaves after you like a giant caterpillar. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Elephant seal
Good to know
Six things about the elephant seal
A roaring nose
The male blows up his trunk-like nose to make his roar boom along the beach.
A mile down
Elephant seals can dive more than 2,000 metres, and stay under for two hours.
A life at sea
They spend about nine-tenths of their lives under water, coming ashore only to breed and moult.
Beach battles
Males rear up and slam into each other to win a stretch of beach.
A new skin each year
Once a year they come ashore and shed their old fur and skin in patches.
The real thing
Photos of the elephant seal
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
South Georgia and the Falkland Islands have busy beaches in spring. You hear them, and smell them, well before you see them.
How to help
They were once hunted almost to nothing for their oil, and have recovered since it stopped. Protected seas round their islands keep them safe.
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