Southern elephant seal
Southern Elephant seals are uncommon on the mainland of New Zealand but individuals are sighted regularly, more often in the south. Breeding in the New Zealand region is almost exclusively on the subantarctic islands with occasional births on the South Island east coast the only records on the mainland. The population worldwide is likely to be in excess of 500 000 though populations in New Zealand are likely to be only a few hundred and appear to be declining. Elephant seals are the largest of the world’s seals, up to 5m long and weighing up to 4000kg. They spend much of their life at sea, using the back flippers for swimming and eating a variety of fish, squid, and crustaceans. On land they must use body undulations assisted by the front flippers for locomotion. Pups are born, almost black in colour, around September/October and are weaned about three weeks later. They are generally unafraid of people.