Southern Elephant Seal
When young Southern Elephant Seals are weaned, they are known as "weaners." This is a play on words, because they lie on the beach like huge sausages who weigh hundreds of pounds. They are sometimes called blubberslugs (which was my favorite word of the trip) because they have a thick layer of blubber and lie on the beach like slugs. One of the naturalists on the ship described them as a mouth attached to an anus. Every year, hundreds of Elephant Seal pups are crushed to death under mating adults. Elephant Seal milk is twice as thick as whipping cream. This blubberslug was at Grytviken on South Georgia Island.
Southern Elephant Seal
When young Southern Elephant Seals are weaned, they are known as "weaners." This is a play on words, because they lie on the beach like huge sausages who weigh hundreds of pounds. They are sometimes called blubberslugs (which was my favorite word of the trip) because they have a thick layer of blubber and lie on the beach like slugs. One of the naturalists on the ship described them as a mouth attached to an anus. Every year, hundreds of Elephant Seal pups are crushed to death under mating adults. Elephant Seal milk is twice as thick as whipping cream. This blubberslug was at Grytviken on South Georgia Island.