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<p>Southern elephant seals (<i>Mirounga leonina</i>) are the largest pinniped in the world and exhibit a circumpolar distribution in the Southern Ocean. They return to shore for breeding or molting in austral summer and autumn (October to April) for a short time, but onshore sightings of elephant seals at its southernmost breeding site after June are rare. This note provides the first record of a juvenile elephant seal fasting in a snow hole at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, for at least 34&#xa0;days in June and July 2014 before finally returning to the sea. During the study period, although the conditions of the snow hole changed as snow continuously fell, the seal slept inside for the entirety of this period. Hypotheses as to why an elephant seal hauled out and fasted inside the snow hole during the winter are discussed and included energy conservation, limitation of heat loss, and avoidance of predators, which may provide some insights into the winter behavior of this species.</p>

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Juvenile southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) uses snow hole to find shelter in winter at its southernmost breeding site

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年1月13日

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  • Fuxing Wu,
  • Yufei Dai

摘要

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) are the largest pinniped in the world and exhibit a circumpolar distribution in the Southern Ocean. They return to shore for breeding or molting in austral summer and autumn (October to April) for a short time, but onshore sightings of elephant seals at its southernmost breeding site after June are rare. This note provides the first record of a juvenile elephant seal fasting in a snow hole at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, for at least 34 days in June and July 2014 before finally returning to the sea. During the study period, although the conditions of the snow hole changed as snow continuously fell, the seal slept inside for the entirety of this period. Hypotheses as to why an elephant seal hauled out and fasted inside the snow hole during the winter are discussed and included energy conservation, limitation of heat loss, and avoidance of predators, which may provide some insights into the winter behavior of this species.