Chadden Hunter / Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) close up of sleeping individual, South Georgia. Taken on location for BBC Frozen Planet series, 2008

Troels Jacobsen/Arcticphoto / Portrait of a Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) in water. South Georgia.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) pups, fat and docile weaners stay together for company and reassurance, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull roaring at intruder on beach during breeding season, Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island

Gabriel Rojo / Austral parakeet {Enicognathus ferrugineus} Lanin NP, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Southern elephant seal resting {Mirounga leonina} Valdez peninsula, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Southern elephant seal digging into beach {Mirounga leonina} Valdez peninsula, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Southern elephant seal {Mirounga leonina} Valdez peninsula, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Austral parakeets {Enicognathus ferrugineus} Lanin National Park, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Southern elephant seal on beach {Mirounga leonina} Valdez peninsula, Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Southern elephant seal pup underwater {Mirounga leonina} Valdez peninsula, Argentina

Staffan Widstrand / Southern elephant seal {Mirounga leonina} female defensive threat display, Valdez, Argentina

Staffan Widstrand / Southern elephant seal {Mirounga leonina} female portrait. Valdez, Argentina

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) mother and pup, Falkland Islands

Tui De Roy / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) juveniles lounging in tussock grass, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Peter Bassett / Aggressive bull elephant seal and penguins on beach at St Andrews Bay, South Georgia

Mark Carwardine / Southern elephant seal scratching {Mirounga leonina} Patagonia, Argentina

Konrad Wothe / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sleeping male and King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), South Georgia Island

Flip Nicklin / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) juvenile bulls fighting, South Georgia Island

Flip Nicklin / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull calling, South Georgia Island

Flip Nicklin / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult bull, South Georgia Island

Kevin Schafer / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) pup, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Brent Stephenson / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) coming ashore, moulting around its face. Aitcho Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, January.

Chadden Hunter / Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pup just born with umblical cord attached, South Georgia. Taken on location for BBC Frozen Planet series, 2008

Chadden Hunter / Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pup on beach, looking into lens, South Georgia. Taken on location for BBC Frozen Planet series, 2008

Ingo Arndt / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female displaying, Jason Harbor, South Georgia Island

Oriol Alamany / Austral parakeets (Enicognathus ferrugineus), pair on a branch, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Oriol Alamany / Austral parakeets (Enicognathus ferrugineus), couple preening on a branch, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) on rock shore with snow-covered mountains on the horizon. South Georgia Islands, Southern Ocean, November.

Mark Carwardine / Portrait of Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), the largest species of pinniped. South-Georgia, Antarctica, January.

Ingo Arndt / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female calling, Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Charlie Summers / Juvenile Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) male with mouth open. Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands, November.

Charlie Summers / Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) huddle together in typical moulting behavior while wind-blown sand covers them. Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands, November.

Troels Jacobsen/Arcticphoto / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) pup looking over its head. South Georgia, Antarctica.

Troels Jacobsen/Arcticphoto / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) weaners wallow in the streams at St Andrew's Bay in front of a colony of King Penguins in a rugged landscape. South Georgia, Antarctica.

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) juvenile males fighting, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult male and female, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) group on beach, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) group on beach, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult males fighting, South Georgia Island

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) three week old weaned pup, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Antarctic Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) feeding on Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female with research tag and tattoo, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Antarctic Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) feeding on Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull carcass and mantling to prevent competition, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull displaying to show dominance, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Antarctic Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) feeding on Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull carcass and mantling to prevent competition, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult males fighting for dominance, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult males fighting for dominance, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) sub-adult males fighting for dominance, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) male attempting to mate with female, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) male attempting to mate with female, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Falkland Thrush (Turdus falcklandii), Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female with head partially buried in sand, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) yearling sleeping, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) mother and pup, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female calling next to Dusty Miller (Senecio cinerarias) in the dunes, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bulls fighting, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull displaying, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) male attempting to mate with female, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Orca (Orcinus orca) female dorsal fins, East Falkland Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Orca (Orcinus orca) female followed by gulls picking up scraps of meat from Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) kill, East Falkland Island, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull stretching, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Heike Odermatt / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) juveniles sparring, Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Bull Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) after fighting for take over of the harem. Even a short fight usually results in both bulls getting badly cut on their necks and faces. The Tussock Bird...

Pete Oxford / Head portrait of Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) Bull sleeping, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Double portrait of Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) Bull and female lying together on coastal shoreline, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Double portrait of Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) Bull and female lying together on coastal shoreline, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) Bull vocalising after fighting for control of the harem. Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Portrait of a Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) juvenile, 3 weeks old and weaned, its mother has abandoned it to go to sea and from now on it must survive on its own. Sea Lion Island. South o...

Pete Oxford / Bull Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands.

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female giving birth to pup, on sandly shore, with Sheathbill scavenging afterbirth, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) mother and newborn pupm with sheathbills and gulls. Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Head portrait of Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female. Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull in shallow waters, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) Bull after fighting for control of the harem. Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Double portrait of Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) sleeping mother and newborn pup, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkand Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) male attempting to mate with the female. Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Head portrait of Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull lying on coastal shoreline, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female giving birth to pup, on sandly shore, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull, on coastal shoreline, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Colony / Harem of Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) lying on beach, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Pete Oxford / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female on beach, Sea Lion Island. South of mainland east Falkland Island. Falkland Islands

Suzi Eszterhas / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female, Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Suzi Eszterhas / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) female, Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) pups calling amid tussock grass, South Georgia Island

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) young males fighting on beach, South Georgia Island

David Tipling / Southern Elephant Seal {Mirounga leonina} bull (beachmaster) bellowing on beach, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, November

David Tipling / Young Southern elephant seal {Mirounga leonina} scratching, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, October

David Tipling / Southern Elephant Seal bull{Mirounga leonina} in surf on beach, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, November 2006

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) investigating potential nest cavity in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) feeding in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest canopy, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) foraging in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest understory, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) courting pair in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Tui De Roy / Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) feeding in Southern Beech (Nothofagus sp) forest canopy, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Ingo Arndt / Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) bull swimming, Stromness Bay, South Georgia Island