SEA ELEPHANT ASHORE.
DUNEDIN BEACH VISITED. SPECTACLE FOR LARGE CROWD. [BT TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] DUNEDIN, Sunday. A large sea elephant appeared on the rocks near St. Clair yesterday. There was a very large crowd on the beach all day and many people had a close view of the unusual visitor.
The sea elephant first made its appearance at about 10.30 a.m. on the rocks at the seaward side of the baths. After floundering about for some time it made off in ,a direct line out to sea. Later, however, it returned and came ashore on the rocks at the point between the baths and the second beach, where it attracted much attention for some time, about noon, before it decided to return to sea again. It was about 15ft. in length.
The sea elephant, or elephant seal, is the largest of the seal family, the male sometimes measuring 20ft. in length. It is called the elephant seal because of the shape of the nose in the adult male. The colour is grayish and the teeth relatively very small. The males are much larger than the females. They live in families and societies and feed on fish and molluscs, especially cuttle fish. The skin furnishes leather and the oil is valuable for burning. The tongue alone is palatable.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20758, 29 December 1930, Page 8
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217SEA ELEPHANT ASHORE. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20758, 29 December 1930, Page 8
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