| 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. |
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| This Southern Elephant Seal as well as the one in the next shot, was at Macquarie Island, Tasmania, Australia, in November, 2001. |
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| The next two shots show animals resting on the beach at Gold Harbor, South Georgia, in January, 2002. |
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| 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. |
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| 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! |
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| 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. |
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