The
southern elephant seal (
Mirounga leonina) is one of the two extant
species of
elephant seals. It is both the largest
pinniped and member of the order
Carnivora living today, as well as the largest Antarctic seal. The seal gets its name from its great size and the large
proboscis of the adult males, which is used to make extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. Rather larger at average than the male
northern elephant seal (
Mirounga angustirostris) (which is 40% lighter) and male
walrus (
Odobenus rosmarus) (the average
North Pacific bull, of the larger race, is 2.5 times lighter), the adult bull southern elephant seal is without rival the largest
carnivoran alive. An average adult male southern elephant seal weighs six to seven times more than the largest terrestrial carnivorans, the
polar bear (
Ursus maritimus) and
Kodiak bear (
Ursus arctos middendorffi).