Southern Elephant Seal
Southern Elephant SealSouthern Elephant SealSouthern Elephant SealSouthern Elephant Seal

Southern Elephant Seal

Mirounga leonina

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
5–10% · With luck
overall probability at Great Otway National Park
16 Verified records at Great Otway National Park
August Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

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). Wikipedia →

5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Great Otway National Park, based on 16 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Great Otway National Park

Leopard Seal
LC

Leopard Seal

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Hydrurga leptonyx

<5% · Rare
Afro-Australian Fur Seal
LC

Afro-Australian Fur Seal

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Arctocephalus pusillus

10–20% · With luck
Red Fox
LC Endemic

Red Fox

🌅 Crepuscular Mammal

Vulpes vulpes

10–20% · With luck
Long-nosed Fur Seal
LC

Long-nosed Fur Seal

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Arctocephalus forsteri

Insufficient data

📅 Monthly Probability

<5
Jan
<5
Feb
<5
Mar
5–10
Apr
<5
May
5–10
Jun
<5
Jul
30–40
Aug
<5
Sep
<5
Oct
<5
Nov
<5
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
80–90%
2 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
5–10%
3 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
5–10%
4 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
5–10%
5 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
6 Tierra del Fuego National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
Insufficient data
7 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
8 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
9 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
10 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Elephant Seal in Great Otway National Park?

About 8% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Great Otway National Park, based on 16 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Southern Elephant Seal in Great Otway National Park?

August has the highest sighting rate for Southern Elephant Seal in Great Otway National Park in our monthly data.

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