The Weddell seal[2] (Leptonychotes weddellii) is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing captain James Weddell to the area of the Southern Ocean now known as the Weddell Sea. [3]

Weddell seals inhabit Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. They do not migrate and winters are spent under the ice of the Antarctic Sea, emerging through blowholes and cracks to breathe. They congregate in large groups on pack ice.

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 spend much of their time below the Antarctic ice. They have the southernmost range of any seal, but find the chilly waters rich with the prey they seek. These seals do not...

Weddell Seals tend to congregate together around breathing holes made in the ice. They’ll stay together in the water during the Antarctic winters with just their noses poking out in order to avoid the harsh winter winds.

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 a circumpolar distribution and are coastal, staying around the fast ice and venturing only 15–20 km into the Southern Ocean to feed. Weddell seals haul-out onto the fast …

Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddellii, live further south on the planet than any other mammal. Although most ice-loving seals prefer the pack ice, Weddell seals are found on near-shore fast ice. This seal’s population is estimated at 800,000 around the Antarctic continent.

Weddell seals live around Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. They are the world’s southern-most breeding mammal. A small population lives all year on South Georgia. Weddell seals are present at many islands along the Antarctic Peninsula that are seasonally ice-free.

Feb 23, 2024 · Many of them live in an area called McMurdo Sound which is almost 800 miles away from the South Pole. You will find the Weddell Seals in large groups on the icy shores. They spend much of their time though in the icy cold waters around them. They may be hard to see because they will stay well below the surface of the ice.