Elephant Seal in Brazil Yesterday in Brazil a 10ft long elephant seal weighing half a tonne climbed out of the Atlantic and onto a major road, the Avenida Atlantica, where it lay down for over an hour and a half. Police officers and fire-fighters poured water on to the seal in an attempt to cool it down. People crowded round the beast to take pictures and videos. Elephant seals are large, heavy seals that generally remain on beaches or ice flows in the Atlantic Ocean. They live for up to 22 years, and it is unusual for them to venture into urban areas.