Southern elephant seals inhabit open water outside the breeding and
moulting seasons (that they spend on land) for an average of 10 months
per year (80% of their life) to feed on more than 20 species of squid
and fish. During this time, the seals dive day and night to average
depths of 300 - 600m for 20 - 22 minutes. They have been known, however,
to dive as deep as 1.500m for as long as 2 hours.
As much as 90% of their time is spent beneath the surface, coming up to
breathe for 2 - 3 minutes between dives. No light can penetrate on the
depths they dive for which their eyes are highly adapted to capture changes in
light intensity to catch bioluminescent organisms.
Adult southern elephant seals return to their feeding grounds in the
Antarctic twice annually travelling up to 2.000km each way, once
following breeding season and the second after moulting. The Argentinean
population of Península Valdés returns to feeding grounds in the
Southern Atlantic Ocean on the limit or outside the continental shelf.
Back