Interactions between a male elephant seal Mirounga leonina and Cape fur Seals Arctocephalus pusillus

Abstract

A male elephant seal Mirounga leonina at Van Reenen Bay, South West Africa/Namibia, was observed catching, killing and attempting copulation with female fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus, as well as catching and occasionally killing fur seal pups and participating in territorial disputes with fur seal bulls. Previous and subsequent records of a similar- sized elephant seal in the same vicinity suggest that an individual male has adapted its annual reproductive haul-out to coincide with the fur seals' breeding season.