A regular visitor to the Cape, elephant seal, Buffel, has once again chosen Diaz Beach in Cape Point as his preferred moulting location.
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Buffel has garnered quite the cult following since making landfall in South Africa for the first time in 2016, returning to the shore on Duiker Island, Fish Hoek Beach, and Diaz Beach in Cape Point Nature Reserve.
He had been photographed from the air by marine biologist, Jean Tresfon, in the first week of March.
All elephant seals moult annually when they shed their sheets of cornified skin and hair. In Elephant seals – along with penguins – this kind of moulting is called a “catastrophic moult“ because they replace all their hair while fasting on land. With Elephant seals, this process can take up to a month.
WATCH: Buffel enjoy his 2021 visit below:
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Words: David Henning / Getaway Gallery
Picture: Anton Crone / Getaway Gallery
