Southern Elephant Seal
Mirounga leonina
At riskvery high flu risk
Conservation status: vulnerable
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).
References
- National risk scores for H5 bird flu for native birds and mammals — DCCEEW
- Mirounga leonina — Wikipedia
- Southern Elephant Seal species profile — Atlas of Living Australia (ALA)