Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) are named after the huge trunk-like nose on the males and make sounds that sound like a gurgling drain. They are the largest non-whale predators – males weigh up to three tonnes and adult females between 300-900 kg. Elephant Seals spend most of their lives at sea and are prodigious divers, reaching depths of 2 kilometres and staying down for two hours. They come to land to breed (October-November) and to moult (January to April).

Elephant Seal pups are 40 kg at birth and are weaned in 24 days by which time they weigh 120 kg or more. These ‘weaners’ remain ashore until March-April, then go to sea without any instruction on how to survive or catch food. This weaner Southern Elephant Seal on the beach at St Andrew’s Bay was moulting and lying on a large beached frond of giant kelp (seaweed). His moulting skin seemed to irritate him and he was scratching himself to get relief. The beach sand is littered with the moulted feathers of King Penguins.