Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Weddell seals are the second most abundant species of Antarctic phocid, after the crabeater seal. The most recent estimate suggests a population of about 202,000 female seals, based on high-resolution satellite images from November 2011 that cover the full habitat range of the species.
The Weddell seal is a large seal with a bulky body, and a relatively small head with a short, wide snout. Adults are brown to dark gray with light and dark patches on the back and silvery-white on the belly.
Get a peek at the amazing Weddell seal, which can dive 2,000 feet below the chilly waters of the Antarctic and stay under for 45 minutes.
Weddell seals are the most southerly ranging mammal to permanently inhabit the continent. Sightings of the seals have been made in New Zealand and Australia, though they are very rare indeed.
Weddell seal, (Leptonychotes weddellii), nonmigratory earless seal (family Phocidae) found around the South Pole, on or near the coast of Antarctica. The Weddell seal is a rotund animal that grows to about 3 metres (10 feet) in length and about 400 kg (880 pounds) in weight; the female is larger.
Name: Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) Length: 2.5 to 3.5 metres. Weight: 400 to 600kg. Location: Antarctica. Conservation status: Least Concern. Diet: Fish, crustaceans, krill, squid, prawns, cephalopods, penguins, other seals.
Weddell seals keep breathing holes in the ice open by rasping back and forth with their teeth, this allows them to live further south than any other mammal. They can swim large distances between breathing holes and cracks, finding the next hole using a form of sonar with high pitched sounds.
Weddell seals are prodigious divers, capable of plunging over 2000 feet (over 600 m) and staying underwater for up to 80 minutes at a time. They are also excellent navigators, able to find their way to food sources and back to their point of origin, even in 24-hour darkness.
Weddell seals have perfected the art of year-round survival in the harsh Antarctic climate. Though this male may have perfected life in these chilly waters, he still needs...
We are parked amid a group of moulting Weddell seals, the southernmost breeding mammal on earth. These beautiful 400 kg plus animals have large, oversized brown eyes for gathering light deep under the sea ice, disproportionately small heads and big fat tummies.