It's a girl! A female southern elephant seal born in Western Australia

Southern elephant seals typically breed on subantarctic islands and breeding in more temperate regions is rare. This small female (∼1.42 m) that weaned after 25 days is smaller than the average weaned female elephant seal and her survival prospects are correspondingly low (20–35%). The fact that the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian Journal of Zoology
Main Authors: McMahon, CR, Thums, M, Bradshaw, M, Busby, S, Chapple, V, Evans, M, Goodlich, S, Holland, C, Raudino, H, Rebuck, P, Hindell, MA
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: C S I R O Publishing 2017
Subjects:
Integrated Marine Observing System
Mirounga leonina
survival
Elephant Seal
Elephant Seals
Southern Elephant Seal
Southern Elephant Seals
Online Access:https://eprints.utas.edu.au/26971/
https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO17036
Description
Summary:Southern elephant seals typically breed on subantarctic islands and breeding in more temperate regions is rare. This small female (∼1.42 m) that weaned after 25 days is smaller than the average weaned female elephant seal and her survival prospects are correspondingly low (20–35%). The fact that the elephant seal was successfully weaned offers some insight into the breeding plasticity in this species.

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