THE Southern Elephant Seal

1
THE Southern Elephant Seal

• Origin trunk and size
• Scientific name Mirounga leonina
• Found by Linnaeus in 1758
• Named by Lydekker in 1909

2
Physical Characteristics

• Size Males up to 20 ft (5m), females up to 10 ft
  (3m)
• Weight Males up to 4 T (8818 lb), females up to
  1 T (2204 lb)
• Description
• Sexual Dimorphism

3
Life cycle

• Maturity Males at 9-10 years
• Females at 3-5
• Molting
• Gestation lasts 11.3 months
• Longevity

4
Breeding

• Breeding behaviour
• Breeding time
• Weaning time

5
Distribution

• South Georgia
• Kerguelen and Heard
• Macquarie Islands
• Beaches and grasslands
• Total Population 700,000

6
Feeding

• Squid
• Fish
• Small sharks
• Shrimp
• octopus

7
Major Threats

• Exploited until 1964
• Killer whales Sharks
• Human disasters
• fishing nets
• Oil spill

8
Bibliography

• http//www.elephantseal.org/
• http//www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/eleseal.htm
  
• http//ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jaap/elep
  seal.htm
• National Marine Sactuary http//bonita.mbnms.nos.n
  oaa.gov/educate/newsletters/2001winternewsletter/s
  ealviewing.html