The Southern elephant seal is a large marine mammal found primarily in the sub-Antarctic regions. Males can weigh up to 4,500 pounds and are known for their distinctive large noses, which resemble an elephant's trunk. They spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore mainly for breeding and molting. These seals are excellent divers, capable of reaching depths of over 5,000 feet while hunting for fish and squid. They typically breed on remote islands, with the largest populations found on South Georgia and Macquarie Island. Conservation efforts have helped their numbers recover from past overhunting.