Southern Elephant Seal
Mirounga leonina
Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderCarnivora (Carnivorans)
- FamilyPhocidae (Earless Seals)
- GenusMirounga (Elephant Seals)
- SpeciesMirounga leonina (Southern Elephant Seal)
About the Southern Elephant Seal
The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) is one of two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season. A bull southern elephant seal is about more than twice the weight of a male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) as large sub-adult southern elephant seals have weighed 3 tons, as well as more than twice the weight of a male pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens).
The southern elephant seal was one of the many species originally described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Phoca leonina. John Edward Gray established the genus Mirounga in 1827.
In the nineteenth century, the species was often called "bottle-nosed seal". The southern elephant seal is distinguished from the northern elephant seal (which does not overlap in range with this species) by its... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Southern Elephant Seal in Garden Route National Park
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Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Utría National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 10 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Southern Elephant Seal in Garden Route National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Garden Route National Park, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Southern Elephant Seal in Garden Route National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Southern Elephant Seal in Garden Route National Park in our monthly data.