The elephant seal is the "Rodney Dangerfield" of the ocean, garnering little respect in human circles. Not so the great white shark, fighter jet of the deep, or bottlenose dolphin, the brainchild. And all acknowledge his highness the blue whale, grand leviathan of the high seas.

But what about this grandest of seals? Why no respect? Well, for starters, it's the comic physique. The words ponderous and homely come to mind. Or moose. Even the elephant seal's trunk is just wrong, like it's been smushed. It's the subject of jokes. Not so his African namesake. His is the right trunk, a wonder of wonders. Why so?

It turns out to be a problem of perspective. Topside, where we humans observe them, the elephant seal is like the proverbial duck out of water. Submerged, however, it's a different story. It turns out that this seal is a warm blooded submarine.

After two months of turf wars on rocky beaches around the world, during which time they mostly fight and make love, the beachmasters and their harems slither into the sea. Once underwater an almost magical transformation takes place. They become nimble and quick, venturing halfway round the world in pursuit of fish and squid. They can dive a mile deep for two hours. That's deeper than a sub! They then surface, recover in minutes, and dive again! These feats are made possible by some really nifty circulatory shenanigans as well as a mammoth blood volume. So extraordinary are these seal-a-thons that scientists are attaching devices to the beasts to gather data on climate change. So forget the comic nose and physique, this superhero is helping to save the planet.