Mirounga leonina

SC189- Animals in the wild

Southern elephant seals are the world's largest true seals, the bulls can reach a weight of 3500-4000kg and a length of 6,5m.

At Hannah Point/ Walker Bay on Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands, a group of volcanic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula) juvenile male elephant seals come to rest and moult.

Because of the high concentration of diverse wildlife, the rare vegetation and the geologigal features (fossils and a red jasper dyke) visits are very restricted.
I felt privileged to see the huge elephant seals and was glad to have managed a decent shot.

This week I only found a pair of (wild) storks, they had chosen to build their nest not in the wild but in our zoo. With the river nearby and a protected environment for their nest they have the best of both worlds;-)