Southern Elephant Seal
The largest of all seals is the southern elephant seal.
Elephant seals are easily recognisable, especially the males which have a trunk-like nose, used to amplify their loud roaring. Southern elephant seals live in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters. The two main populations found in Australian waters are at Heard and Macquarie Islands. They breed on land but spend their winters in the frigid waters near the Antarctic pack ice.
Southern elephant seals spend ninety percent of their lives at sea. They come onshore for the breeding season from September to November, and return to sea for 10-14 weeks before the moult in January-March. They moult onshore for about four weeks before returning to sea until the next breeding season. On land, they are big and cumbersome, but they are superb swimmers and divers. Their torpedo shape and unique physiology means they can dive to over 1,500 m and can stay submerged for up to 2 hours. They are the deepest diving seals in the world.
The southern elephant seal was heavily hunted during the 19th century, primarily for oil. The King Island population in Bass Strait was extinct by about 1805. Hunting continued until the mid-1960s. Southern elephant seals are now protected by an international convention and protected under Australian legislation as a threatened species.
Today, climatic change is the greatest threat to the southern elephant seal. The increase in sea surface temperature and habitat loss affects the seals’ foraging behaviour and food availability
Did You Know?
Southern elephant seals were named for the male’s trunk-like snouts.
Facts & Figures
COMMON NAME: Southern Elephant Seals
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Mirounga leonina
TYPE: Mammals
BODY SIZE: Up to 4-5 metres
WEIGHT: Up to 3,500 kg
LIFESPAN (IN WILD): 20 to 22 years
DIET: Carnivore
HABITAT: Two main populations in Australian waters on Heard and Macquarie Islands
LOCATION: Endemic to southern coastal waters of Australia, and is found as far north as Moreton Bay (QLD) on the east-coast and on the west-coast up to Ningaloo Reef (WA).
CONSERVATION STATUS: Vulnerable
POPULATION TREND: Stable
Neil the Seal
Neil was born on the Tasman Peninsula in 2020. Experts think his mother may have been disorientated when he was born a long way from the closest breeding colony on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean. His juvenile antics first gained fame in July 2022 after resting in Hobart for his month-long moulting period. Neil is popular on social media, but for his safety, the public are asked to stay away.
Neil is estimated at six or seven hundred kilos, but over the next two years, he’s expected to grow to up to 5 metres in length and weigh as much as 3,500 kilograms.