[The Conversation Africa] The world's largest and heaviest living carnivore is not a big cat, a bear or a wolf: it's the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina). Bulls of this species can be 5 metres long and can weigh up to 3,500kg. The Cape fur seal, meanwhile, can grow to 3.9 metres and weigh up to 360kg. A large African lion, by comparison, weighs 250kg.
