Attribution: Latitia Kernalguen. A harem of 127 females is a prize that has to be earned. Where female Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) provide all the parental care, they will only reproduce in the territory of the biggest males, the biggest fathers for their offspring. Females average 400 to 900kg, while males weigh up to 4 tons; Southern Elephant Seals show the largest sexual dimorphism among land breeding mammals. When a male challenges the head of a harem he needs to prove his strength at a great cost, resulting in a fascinating and captivating fight between the two giants.Winner: Behavioural and Physiological Ecology.BMC Ecology 2013, 13:6 doi:10.1186/1472-6785-13-6www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/13/6
Summary[edit] Description: Northern Elephant Seals hauled out at Año Neuvo State Park, California. Date: 8 August 2002. Source: photograph by Wikipedian. Author: Stephen Lea.
Summary[edit] Description: Elephant seals, such as these seen in late October at Fortuna Bay on South Georgia Island, are at sea 10 months of the year with 90 percent of that time spent underwater. They can dive up to one kilometer deep in search of squid. Date: 27 October 2014, 08:33. Source: Elephant Seals. Author: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada. Camera location54° 09′ 15.41″ S, 36° 48′ 15.04″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap-54.154281; -36.804179.
Summary[edit] Description: English: Male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) at Ano Nuevo State Park. Date: 9 February 2019, 16:12:27. Source: Own work. Author: Rhododendrites. Camera location37° 06′ 52″ N, 122° 19′ 43″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 37.114309; -122.328484.
Summary[edit] Description: Male, female and pup Northern Elephant Seals. This image describes a breeding behavior, when a nursing mother is not ready to mate and uses all means (sand in this situation) to get rid of the attacking male. Date: 2008. Source: Own work. Author: Brocken Inaglory.