Southern elephant seal  (Mirounga leonina)

In the 18th and 19th centuries southern elephant seals were hunted extensively for their fur for clothing, and oil for mechanical lubrication (2) (6), and a large-scale sealing industry continued in South Georgia until 1964 under a management scheme (4) (6). This exploitation resulted in many populations declining, which recovered after the cessation of such activities (6), however, since the 1950s and 1960s, numbers of the southern elephant seal have again decreased significantly (2). Reasons for this decline are unclear, but it is thought to be due to changes in distribution and abundance of the seal’s prey (2). There is some concern that large-scale fisheries may be competing with the elephant seals for their preferred prey (2).

Southern elephant seals are protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Marine Mammal Act 1972, but research into the reasons behind the decline of this species must be conducted before management plans can be drawn up. Priorities for research need to focus on the continuation of census programmes, demographic studies and investigations into several aspects of the biology of first-year seals, particularly diet and foraging ranges (6). Some of the breeding sites of the southern elephant seal are protected, such as the Provincial Wildlife Reserve of North Point, at Peninsula Valdés, Argentina (7), and MacQuarie Island Nature Reserve and World Heritage Site (8).