---
title: "What the sources say about the Southern Elephant Seal | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "43 claims from the Southern Elephant Seal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Southern Elephant Seal (*Mirounga leonina*)

> 43 claims from the Southern Elephant Seal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Southern Elephant Seal](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/southern-elephant-seal/)

## Mirounga leonina (southern elephant seal). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mirounga_leonina/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the species averages 4.5 meters in length | Average length 4.5 m |
| Bulls also use that same roar to challenge each other for dominance on a crowded beach | Male southern elephant seals will challenge each other by using their proboscises to make a roaring sound (note: 'for dominance' is a light paraphrase of ADW's own framing, the harem-control fight for status described throughout its Behavior/Reproduction sections; 'crowded beach' is generic scene-setting, not a figure) |
| From the early 19th century until 1964, sealers harvested southern elephant seals for their blubber oil | from the early 19th century until 1964, they were heavily harvested by commercial companies wanting to turn their blubber into oil |
| Killer whales, leopard seals, and some large sharks are its main predators at sea | Their main predators are orcas (Orcinus orca), some big sharks, and leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) |
| an elephant seal fights back with its teeth or swims away | Southern elephant seals fight back with their teeth, or swim away when they encounter predator |
| he survives on blubber reserves, the fat stores these seals build up by eating throughout the rest of the year | They do not eat during the period when they give birth and mate, so they eat and build up fat stores throughout the rest of the year |
| dangerLevel: High | Southern elephant seals are large animals, and could potentially kill or harm a person if they were to come too close. |
| Bulls challenge each other on the breeding beaches by roaring through the proboscis that gives the species its name, then rear up on their hind flippers to show their size. | Male southern elephant seals will challenge each other by using their proboscises to make a roaring sound. They will also raise up on their hind fins to show off their size. |

## Elephant seal. Australian Antarctic Program.

https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/seals/elephant-seal/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Squid and fish, hunted along the Antarctic sea-ice edge | southern elephant seals migrate south to Antarctica to feed on squid and fish at the edge of the sea-ice |
| breath-holds of up to two hours | holding their breath under water for up to 2 hours |
| Breath-holds of up to two hours on oxygen-rich blood, and a roaring proboscis | these adaptions mean that Southern elephant seals can take a breath and make the oxygen last for up to two hours (note: proboscis/roar half: AAD 'named after the large proboscis (nose) of the adult males, which is used to make loud roaring sounds') |
| Adult bulls weigh up to 3,000 kilograms | adult males weighing up to 3,000 kg |
| cows weigh between 300 and 900 kilograms just before giving birth | adult females between 300 and 900 kg just prior to giving birth |
| The bull's large proboscis, the feature that gives the species its name, is used to make loud roaring sounds, especially during the mating season | Southern elephant seals are named after the large proboscis (nose) of the adult males, which is used to make loud roaring sounds, especially during the mating season |
| a bull will not leave to hunt; instead he survives on blubber reserves | the bulls will not leave their territory to find food. Instead, they rely on blubber reserves |
| hunt squid and fish at the edge of the Antarctic sea ice | southern elephant seals migrate south to Antarctica to feed on squid and fish at the edge of the sea-ice |
| Biologists have recorded them diving up to 2 kilometers deep and holding their breath for up to two hours | Biologists have recorded them diving up to 2 kilometres deep and holding their breath under water for up to 2 hours |
| most dives last around 30 minutes and reach 300 to 800 meters | Most dives are about 30 minutes in duration and to depths of between 300 m and 800 m |
| spend roughly two minutes at the surface | spending about 2 minutes on the surface between dives |
| Extra red blood cells that may carry more hemoglobin than usual | Their red blood cells may, as an adaptation for diving, contain more haemoglobin than normal |
| oxygen-storing myoglobin that turns their muscle tissue black | Molecules of oxygen-carrying myoglobin are present in the muscles and colour them black |
| make one breath last for up to two hours | these adaptions mean that Southern elephant seals can take a breath and make the oxygen last for up to two hours |
| many populations were nearly wiped out | Many populations were nearly exterminated through these activities |
| staying under for as long as two hours at a stretch, reaching depths of up to 2 kilometers | Biologists have recorded them diving up to 2 kilometres deep and holding their breath under water for up to 2 hours |
| Most dives are shorter working trips, lasting around half an hour and reaching between 300 and 800 meters, and the seal spends about two minutes on the surface between dives | Most dives are about 30 minutes in duration and to depths of between 300 m and 800 m |
| Hauling out on the beaches of South Georgia and Macquarie Island | There are four main stock groups: South Georgia, Peninsula Valdez, Iles Kerguelen and Heard Island, and Macquarie Island |
| After breeding or moulting, elephant seals head into the Southern Ocean | After breeding or moulting, southern elephant seals migrate south to Antarctica |
| Sub-Antarctic islands and the Southern Ocean | Southern elephant seals have a circumpolar distribution and visit sub-Antarctic islands to breed |
| tags: antarctic | southern elephant seals migrate south to Antarctica to feed on squid and fish at the edge of the sea-ice |
| tags: deep-diver | Biologists have recorded them diving up to 2 kilometres deep and holding their breath under water for up to 2 hours. |

## McClain et al. (2015). Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna. PeerJ.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.715

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The largest living carnivoran | The southern elephant seal is the largest carnivoran |
| is the largest carnivoran alive, larger than even the polar bear | The southern elephant seal is the largest carnivoran—even larger than the semi-aquatic polar bear, Ursus maritimus |
| The Guinness Book record holder, as compiled by Wood in 1982, was a male that measured 6.85 meters and weighed 5,000 kilograms | The Guinness Book record holders for maximum size for M. leonina are a male that measured 6.85 m long and weighed 5,000 kg, and a 3.7 m, 1,000 kg female ( Wood, 1982 ) |
| The Guinness Book record holders, as compiled by Wood in 1982, are a male that measured 6.85 meters long and weighed 5,000 kilograms | The Guinness Book record holders for maximum size for M. leonina are a male that measured 6.85 m long and weighed 5,000 kg, and a 3.7 m, 1,000 kg female ( Wood, 1982 ) |
| a far smaller female of 3.7 meters and 1,000 kilograms | a 3.7 m, 1,000 kg female |

## Volzke et al. (2023). Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal. Royal Society Open Science.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| adult males grow to nearly five times the body mass of females | Adult male southern elephant seals reach nearly five times the body mass of females |
| about 4 percent of adult males control a harem | the few (approx. 4%) adult males that do control breeding harems |
| harem, which can hold up to 100 females in a breeding season | grow large enough to control a harem of up to 100 females in the breeding season |
| An adult male reaches nearly five times the body mass of a female | Adult male southern elephant seals reach nearly five times the body mass of females |
| about 4 percent of adult males control one | the few (approx. 4%) adult males that do control breeding harems |

## Jonsen et al. (2018). Movement responses to environment: fast inference of variation among southern elephant seals with a mixed effects model. Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2566

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| migrating up to 4,000 kilometers from their colonies | These seals migrate up to 4,000 km from their breeding colonies |

## Hofmeyr (2026). Mirounga leonina. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T13583A95970952.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t13583a95970952.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Today the IUCN Red List lists the species as Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU) (note: Current category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (2026 assessment DOI). No year or previous category is stated: no cached source states a change.) |
| The IUCN Red List lists southern elephant seals as Vulnerable, not Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU) (note: Current category via GBIF's copy of the Red List; 'not Endangered' restates the category.) |