Page 14 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Seals: masters of the oceans

WEDDELL SEAL
Leptonychotes weddellii
Class Mammalia

Territory Southern Oceans
Diet Fish, crustaceans and
octopus
Lifespan 30 years
Adult weight 450kg (990lb)
Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN
Weddell seal

These daring divers make a racket as they hunt under the ice

These Antarctic seals spend most of their time under the ice, predators, orcas and leopard seals, although young seals are
hunting for prey such as cod and silverfish. They will often swim more vulnerable. Females give birth on the fast ice between

beneath the fish so that they become backlit by the ice above September and November, and will stay with their pups for the

and easy to spot. This tactic can take them to depths of over 600 first two months. The young grow quickly, gaining almost two

metres (1,970 feet), and they can remain submerged for periods kilograms (4.4 pounds) of weight each day.
of 45 minutes or more. However, like all marine mammals, they Weddell seals are highly vocal, with an extensive repertoire of Weddell seals
rarely migrate,
eventually surface to breathe. underwater calls. Their whistles and chirps are so loud that they and they can

Above the surface, weddell seals tend to haul themselves are audible from above the ice. They are thought to use these o
en be found
onto fast ice (ice that is attached to the coast), rather than vocalisations to display that they are strong and healthy, in order within just a few
kilometres of

floating pack ice. This keeps them relatively safe from their main to attract a mate. their birthplace
Ribbon seal RIBBON SEAL
This striped seal has its very Histriophoca fasciata
own method of moving Class Mammalia
Ribbon seals are most commonly found in
the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, both off the
eastern coast of Russia. They spend most Territory North Pacific Ocean

of their lives on pack ice or out in open Diet Fish and invertebrates
Lifespan 20 years
water, where they feed on fish and shrimp. Adult weight 70-90kg

The seals breed in the spring, giving (150-200lb)
birth to pups that are completely white. Conservation status
The pups will become silvery-grey after
a few weeks and will not gain the stripes
that give them their name until the age of LEAST CONCERN
four. All ribbon seals have an internal air
sac to the right of their ribs, but it is not
known what this is for.
Most Arctic seals pull themselves

forward with both flippers at once, but
ribbon seals have their own style, putting
one flipper forward at a time. Over short

distances, they can travel faster than the
average person can run!
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