25 Jun 2021

Critter of the Week Southern Elephant Seal

From the collecton Critter of the Week

The Southern Elephant Seal is one of the top predators in the Southern Ocean. They are enormous beasts: males are 5 to 6 times heavier than females and weigh around 3 and a half tonnes—that’s heavier than a ute.

The males also have an inflatable proboscis which helps them produce an intimidating ‘coughing roar’ when battling other males during the breeding season.

Get the RNZ app

for easy access to all your favourite programmes

Subscribe to Afternoons

Podcast (MP3) Oggcast (Vorbis)