Mirounga leonina
Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) is one of two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season. A bull southern elephant seal is about more than twice the weight of a male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) as large sub-adult southern elephant seals have weighed 3 tons, as well as more than twice the weight of a male pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens).
The southern elephant seal was one of the many species originally described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Phoca leonina. John Edward Gray established the genus Mirounga in 1827.
In the nineteenth century, the species was often called "bottle-nosed seal". The southern elephant seal is distinguished from the northern elephant seal (which does not overlap in range with this species) by its... Wikipedia →
Recording0:14
Argentina · 2019
© Nicolas Olejnik · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:09
South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands · 2025
© frances_crdva · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:05
Australia · 2025
Georgina Ngametua · iNaturalist · CC0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 2 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oceanopolis | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Buenos Aires on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 12th most-seen of the 15 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal in Buenos Aires on a given day, against under 5% in February–May and July–November, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Elephant Seal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Southern Elephant Seal sightings, Buenos Aires ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Montevideo (Uruguay, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Elephant Seal is recorded against all the mammals logged in Buenos Aires (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
