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

Southern Elephant Seal

Mirounga leonina

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
80–90% · Very likely
overall probability at Península Valdés
146 Verified records at Península Valdés
January 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 →

80–90% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Península Valdés, based on 146 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Península Valdés

Leopard Seal
LC

Leopard Seal

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Hydrurga leptonyx

Insufficient data
Southern Sea Lion
LC

Southern Sea Lion

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Otaria byronia

80–90% · Very likely
Pampas Fox
LC

Pampas Fox

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Lycalopex gymnocercus

30–40% · Possible
Humboldt's Hog-nosed Skunk
LC

Humboldt's Hog-nosed Skunk

☀️🌙 Day & Night Mammal

Conepatus chinga

20–30% · Possible
Geoffroy's Cat
LC

Geoffroy's Cat

☀️🌙 Day & Night Mammal

Leopardus geoffroyi

10–20% · With luck

📅 Monthly Probability

90–100
Jan
70–80
Feb
70–80
Mar
60–70
Apr
70–80
May
80–90
Jun
60–70
Jul
80–90
Aug
80–90
Sep
80–90
Oct
80–90
Nov
80–90
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 Península Valdés?

About 83% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Elephant Seal sighting in Península Valdés, based on 146 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Southern Elephant Seal in Península Valdés?

January has the highest sighting rate for Southern Elephant Seal in Península Valdés in our monthly data.

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