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Southern Elephant Seal
Mirounga leonina
The Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) is a huge beast. Males can be 14 or 15 feet long and weigh 7000 pounds or more. Females average 7 to 8 feet long and weight 1500 pounds or so. Elephant Seals are amazing divers and have been documented at depths of 3000 feet and may remain underwater for 2 hours. The species is quite ungainly on land, but is a masterful swimmer. During the austral summer, these animals often come ashore on Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic islands to lounge on the beaches and moult their skin. Many may lay together, belching from both ends, to produce a visual and olfactory experience never to be forgotten. The animal at right was on the beach at Gold Harbor, South Georgia, in January, 2002, and was photographed with a Canon EOS 1V and EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS lens and 1.4X extender on Fuji Velvia. The same data goes with the next two images which show King Penguins in the background. The animal with its mouth open was a young male offering a challenge to another nearby animal.
 
This Southern Elephant Seal as well as the one in the next shot, was at Macquarie Island, Tasmania, Australia, in November, 2001.
The next two shots show animals resting on the beach at Gold Harbor, South Georgia, in January, 2002.
 
The animal below was at Gold Harbor in January, 2003. This was a digital shot from Gold Harbor in January, 2003,with a Canon D60 and EF 70-200 L IS lens and 2X extender, as were the other shots at right.
On the right is a shot of a pup's face. These little guys are known as "wieners" even thought about 5 feet long and 300 pounds!
The two young bulls at right were preparing for more serious territorial battles in which they will engage as they mature. This was a digital shot from Gold Harbor in January, 2003, with a Canon D60 and EF 70-200 L IS lens and 2X extender.