Elephant Seal

Elephant Seal battle analysis

On a sub-Antarctic beach in the breeding season, a harem bull is an intimidating sight. Three tonnes of blubber and muscle rears up on its fore-flippers, the swollen trunk-like nose roaring, the chest crashing down on the sand. When displays fail, rival bulls tower over each other and lunge, biting at the neck and leaning with all their weight until one gives way. Most contests are over in minutes, and older, larger bulls usually win access to the females.

At sea the same animal becomes one of the most extreme divers on the planet. For months it barely stops diving, spending up to about 90% of its time underwater and surfacing for only a couple of minutes between dives that routinely reach hundreds of metres. It has been recorded at 2,388 m. Twice the blood volume of a land mammal, extra haemoglobin and oxygen-rich muscles make this possible. The ocean has few places an elephant seal cannot go, and few animals that can follow it there.

In ABS terms the elephant seal is a titan built for endurance rather than killing. Its Stamina and Special are near the top of the roster because of its diving physiology, and its Defense is high because of its sheer mass and blubber. Its Attack is moderate because its weapons are limited to canine bites and body slams, and its Agility is low. Killer whales can still take elephant seals, especially young ones, but a full-grown bull in deep water is one of the hardest animals in the ocean to catch or wear down.

Habitat & range

Southern elephant seals breed on sub-Antarctic islands such as South Georgia, Kerguelen and Marion, and on the Península Valdés coast of Argentina. At sea they range across the Southern Ocean to the Antarctic ice edge, foraging along boundaries between water masses.

Diet & hunting

They eat mainly squid, including glacial squid and smooth hooked squid, and a range of fish, caught during deep dives. Killer whales prey on elephant seals, with high success against newly weaned pups and much lower success against older animals.

Social life

On land during breeding, dominant bulls hold harems of females, from a few dozen to several hundred at large colonies, while lower-ranking males wait at the edges. At sea elephant seals travel and feed alone.

Conservation

The species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population was estimated at about 650,000 in the mid-1990s and 664,000–740,000 in 2005, with recent summaries near 700,000, though trends differ between breeding populations. In 2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 killed an estimated 17,000 southern elephant seals at Península Valdés, including at least 95–96% of pups in surveyed areas, with evidence of mammal-to-mammal spread. Population models predict a long recovery for that colony.

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