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Difference between revisions of "Southern elephant seal"
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===Feeding and diving=== | ===Feeding and diving=== | ||
Satellite tracking revealed the seals spend very little time on the surface, usually a few minutes for breathing. They dive repeatedly, each time for more than 20 minutes, to hunt squid and fish at depths of 400 to 1,000 m (1,300 to 3,300 ft). They are the deepest diving air-breathing non-cetaceans and have been recorded at a maximum of 2,133 m (6,998 ft) in depth. | Satellite tracking revealed the seals spend very little time on the surface, usually a few minutes for breathing. They dive repeatedly, each time for more than 20 minutes, to hunt squid and fish at depths of 400 to 1,000 m (1,300 to 3,300 ft). They are the deepest diving air-breathing non-cetaceans and have been recorded at a maximum of 2,133 m (6,998 ft) in depth. | ||
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===Predation=== | ===Predation=== | ||
Weaned pups, juveniles and even adults of up to adult male size may fall prey to [[orca|orcas]]. Cases where weaned pups have been attacked and killed by [[leopard seals]] (''Hydrurga leptonyx'') and New Zealand sea lions (''Phocarctos hookeri''), exclusively small pups in the latter case, have been recorded. Great white sharks (''Carcharodon carcharias'') have hunted elephant seals near Campbell Island, while bite marks from a southern sleeper shark (''Somniosus antarcticus'') have been found on surviving elephant seals in the Macquarie Islands. | Weaned pups, juveniles and even adults of up to adult male size may fall prey to [[orca|orcas]]. Cases where weaned pups have been attacked and killed by [[leopard seal|leopard seals]] (''Hydrurga leptonyx'') and New Zealand sea lions (''Phocarctos hookeri''), exclusively small pups in the latter case, have been recorded. Great white sharks (''Carcharodon carcharias'') have hunted elephant seals near Campbell Island, while bite marks from a southern sleeper shark (''Somniosus antarcticus'') have been found on surviving elephant seals in the Macquarie Islands. | ||
==Conservation== | ==Conservation== | ||