Some of the most extreme examples of polygyny are to be found among the seals. Seals haul themselves out onto beaches to breed, often in huge ‘rookeries’, heaving with intense sexual and aggressive activity. In a famous study of elephant seals by the California zoologist Burney LeBoeuf, 4 per cent of the males accounted for 88 per cent of all copulations seen. No wonder the rest of the males are dissatisfied, and no wonder elephant-seal fights are among the fiercest in the animal kingdom.
