Elephant seals are the largest of all
seals.
Males can grow to 4.5m long (15ft) and weigh
up to 4 tonnes (8 800lb). Like fur seals, they show a strong sexual dimorphism
(difference in size between the males and females), females grow to about 2.8m
(9ft) and 900kg (2000lb). A fully grown male and female side by side are
commonly mistaken for an adult and juvenile.
They
are called elephant seals partly because of their size and also partly because
of the males snout or trunk that he inflates to impress and intimidate rivals
when competing with other males.
This
picture is of a male who has sustained damage to his trunk during a fight. This
makes him less able to compete with rival males and so he was master of a very
small harem of 2 or 3 females rather than up to a hundred that the biggest and
strongest males can command.
Photo; © Paul Ward - Pentax equipment,
100mm
lens, 35mm film, K64.
This picture may not be copied or used in any manner without
prior written permission.
