The elephant seal, or sea elephant (Mirounga leonina), was once abundant in Chile but had been hunted to extinction by the early 1800s. Over the past century it has slowly recovered and returned to its original habitat.
It is the largest member of the seal family, and, other than cetaceans, the largest marine mammal. Its long snout, which is 40 cm (16 in.) in length, could have seemed like a horn to Huilliche; its imposing size, up to 5 m (16.4 ft.), long, weight, 4,000 kg (8,800 lb.), and aggressive behavior in males also resemble the fierceness and enormity of the mythical Camahueto of the Mapuche and the Chiloé natives.
It can be found in a wide swath of the Southern Ocean, South Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, on the shores of Patagonia in Argentina and Chile, in Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland / Malvinas Islands, the South Georgia Islands, the Antarctic, southern Austwralia, Tasmania and the Kerguelen Islands.
One was spotted in the Puelo River
The following video from 2017, shows an elephand seal playing in the water of the Puelo River, in Chile. This river has its sources in Argentina's Lake Puelo, fed by the Epuyen River and the outflow from Lake Epuyén, site of the famous plesiousaur.
The river receives the inflow of the Manso River, and is a great spot to fish trout and salmon. The locals believe that the seal entered the river chasing fish.
This other video from 2022 shows another seal in the Puelo River.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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