Weddell Seal

February 12, 2010   

weddell
Weddell’s are the cutest seals at Rothera and stay around over the winter unlike the other seals which go out to sea. Their lifespan (20 years) is shorter as they use their teeth to ream out ice holes to breath through and their teeth wear out. Once a Weddell Seal’s teeth have worn down to a certain level, the seal is unable to eat and eventually starves to death.

Their pups are born in September. The Weddell Seal is known for its very deep dives, which may reach some 700 m (2,300 ft). It can also stay underwater for approximately 80 minutes.

 

One Response to “Weddell Seal”

  1. Sutter Schumacher

    Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday! On a whim, I clicked the latest blog update link in Google Reader and got through this time (!!). Now I’m all caught up with your haps, instead of merely being taunted by the blog post headlines. Absolutely incredible. BTW, the other day I emailed out a 2009 “holiday” newsletter to the Northern Hemi friends, but of course can’t email it to you (file is too big). Will print it out and send it to you if you can send me a email/msg with your mailing address. – sutter