Seals, octopuses, jellyfish and more

Southern elephant seal

Mirounga leonina

A vast, slow-breathing seal resting on a Patagonian or island beach. We watch from a respectful distance, and no sighting is ever a promise.

VulnerableIn 11 Atlas countries

Vulnerable (IUCN, 2026) means it is at high risk of extinction in the wild. The category was raised from Least Concern after bird flu killed many seals and pups.

Large southern elephant seal resting on a wet beach, face turned to the camera — Photo: Julia Palmer, iNaturalist, CC BY

Close view of a southern elephant seal's face, with wrinkled skin and dark eyes — Photo: Julia Palmer, iNaturalist, CC BY

Pale elephant seal pup yawning on a pebble beach at Peninsula Valdes, Argentina — Photo: Tony King, iNaturalist, CC BY

Two southern elephant seals raising their heads on a shore at St Andrew's Bay, South Georgia — Photo: Philip Precey, iNaturalist, CC0

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Males roughly 4 to 5.8 m (13 to 19 ft); females roughly 2.6 to 3 m (8.5 to 9.8 ft). Sources give slightly different ranges

Weight

Females roughly 350 to 900 kg (770 to 1,980 lb); males roughly 2,200 to 3,700 kg (4,900 to 8,200 lb). Figures vary between sources

Next to a person

A large male is about three times as long as an adult is tall, and weighs about as much as a small car

What it eats

Squid and fish, with some octopus and other molluscs. They hunt in deep water, often at about 300 to 800 m (980 to 2,600 ft), and dives of 30 minutes are common. Dives deeper than 2,000 m (7,000 ft) have been recorded.

Around people

Wild, give space

How it lives

Females first breed at about 4 to 6 years and males at about 10. Breeding takes place from September to November. A female gives birth to a single pup and nurses it for about three weeks. Adults live about 21 years on average in the wild. Males are far larger than females.

Where it goes

Southern elephant seals spend most of the year at sea and feed far from where they breed, travelling hundreds of miles. They come ashore on subantarctic islands and a few mainland beaches to breed. Peninsula Valdes in Argentina is the only continental breeding site.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Global: about 650,000 seals is the figure usually quoted, but it is an older estimate and no recent global count was found. South Georgia holds over half of the world's seals (1995 census). A 2024 to 2025 census there counted about 107,630 breeding females and about 376,705 seals in all. Bird flu (H5N1) reached the region in 2023. At South Georgia, breeding females at the three largest beaches fell by 47% between 2022 and 2024. At Peninsula Valdes about 95 to 97% of pups died in 2023, more than 17,000 in all. That colony is about 5% of the world population. Falkland Islands: breeding colonies exist, but no recent count was read. In April 2026 the IUCN moved the species from Least Concern to Vulnerable.

Meet it respectfully

Watch quietly from a distance and let the seal decide whether to stay. Never approach, touch, feed or surround a seal, and never stand between a seal and the sea. A resting seal can look slow, but it is a very large wild animal. Keep well away from pups. Bird flu has killed many seals, so if you see a sick or dead animal, do not touch it and tell the guide or the rangers. Follow local rules and your guide.

Fun fact

Tap the bulb to light it up.

Sources for this page

Facts checked 5 October 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.

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