Identification

• The length of the typical adult Weddell seal is in the range of 10 feet and some can achieve weights of 1,200 lbs. The female Weddell seal is a bit larger when compared to the male. The Weddell seal has short but thick fur and a layer of fat that can keep it warm, even when the water it swims in is very cold. This species of seal possesses a head that is somewhat small in relation to its body. The Weddell seal has a gray spotted coat with black on its back and white on the belly area. Its whiskers, known as vibrissae, help it detect objects in the water. This seal lives in large packs.
  
  

Habitat

• Most of the time, a Weddell seal will be either in the water under the ice or on the ice, close to the continent of Antarctica, known as fast pack ice. This environment gives the mammal protection from its two main predators, the leopard seal and the killer whale. The Weddell seal lives as close as 800 miles from the geographic South Pole, with some inhabiting a body of water called McMurdo Sound. The seal will usually come out of the water and onto the ice only to molt its coat, rest and give birth to its young, who are born in colonies of pups.
  
  

Diet

• The Weddell seal feeds upon a diet of squid, octopus, crustaceans, krill and fish. The animal can make underwater sojourns that last as long as 45 minutes, according to the National Geographic website, with the seal able to plunge to depths of 2,000 feet on occasion. The Weddell seal will get into the depths below fish, such as cod, and see them against the background of ice. After catching the fish, the Weddell seal eats it in chunks without chewing it, a characteristic of all seals. The Weddell seal displays a clever behavior of blowing bubbles into the crevices in the sea ice while in the water. This tactic scares fish into the open, where the seal quickly gobbles them down.
  
  

Physiology

• The Weddell seal must use its incisors and canine teeth to keep the ice open, as the animal requires breathing holes when it submerges in search of food. These teeth point forward to make this task easier. The Weddell seal has excellent vision, a trait that comes in handy when it is underwater in the darkness of winter and trying to locate a breathing opening in the ice above. The seal can collapse its lungs, while at the same time lowering its metabolic rate; this allows it to remain underwater for extended periods.
  
  

Time Frame

• The females will have their pups in October. The female reaches sexual maturity at the age of six. After the single pup is born, the female will look after it for six weeks. By the time the little Weddell seal is a week to two weeks old, it knows how to swim and how to get out of the water and back onto the ice. The Weddell seal has a life span on average of about 30 years.