We’re now on to part 5 of Robert Lang‘s 7-part trip to Antarctica (in a small boat). Today we have several species of pinnipeds. Robert’s narratives and captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Antarctica Part 5: Seals
The three most common seals in the western Antarctic Peninsula are the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), and the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina). (There are also Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, and Ross seals, Ommatophoca rossii, but we never saw any of those—the latter are only found in pack ice.)
The Weddell seal lives all around Antarctica, not just in the Weddell Sea—both were named for the same person, British sealing captain James Weddell. Although other seals can be mottled, the Weddell seals we saw had the most distinctive mottling. Still, I’m not absolutely sure on these IDs, and would welcome corrections on any of them.
Although all of the seal mostly just lie around (when they’re out of the water, which was the only place we saw them), Weddells, like this one, seemed to have the most personality.
“Oh hai! I can haz krill?”
This one fancies itself as the sealish Hercule Poirot, judging from the careful curling of its whiskers:
And this one is simply bored.
We saw fewer of the other two seals. The crabeater seal is paler in color and has a long nose, so is easier to identify in profile than head-on. Crabeater seals, contrary to their name, do not eat crabs; they eat krill. They have distinctive multi-lobed teeth, which they use for filter-feeding. We never got close enough to a live crabeater seal to see their dentition, but we did find some skulls with the identifiable teeth still in the jaw.
But they can also be slightly mottled, and from the front, it’s less clear what they are. I think this is also a crabeater:
I’m not sure which one this is, other than that it has a hangover from last night’s party:
We did see a few of the Southern elephant seals, but all females, none of the gargantuan males with their distinctive schnozzes. Even the females are still pretty big, though.
We also hoped to see the “Polar Bear of the Antarctic”: the Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). The second-largest seal (after elephant seals), it is a ferocious carnivore and has been known to attack humans on the pack ice. We eventually found one. The leopard seal’s only natural predator is the orca; this young leopard seal, unfortunately, must have encountered said predator, as one of its rear flippers was missing.
We watched it a while. Eventually it yawned. Check out that mouthful of teeth!
And here’s a brief movie as it shifts position.
Next: A whale of a good time.
Thank you for these fun photos.
Moving on land looks like it takes real work from all these seals.
Delightful – I love the “Poyrott” reference!
Ha! I for one caught your reference. A memorable scene from an excellent series.
Fantastic photos! You truly captured the personalities of these fascinating creatures.
Amazing that leopard seal survived the loss of a flipper. Very interesting collection, thanks.
Pretty sure the one with the hangover is a Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina). Since there’s no way to see scale, I’m not sure of the age, but my first guess would be a juvenile. The genus name Mirounga is thought to be derived from the Australian aboriginal name for these seals, so they’re partially ‘decolonized’.
Crabeater seal teeth are really nifty and worth a look:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Crabeater+Teeth&ved=0EPf4CwgAKAAwAA&hl=en&gl=US&ictx=1
If anyone wants them:
Weddell seal – Leptonychotes weddellii
Crabeater seal – Lobodon carcinophagus
Leopard seal – Hydrurga leptonyx
You have some really good portraits here. Who doesn’t love seals? Can’t wait for the whales!
Terrific photos. Weddell seals definitely have lots of personality. This lazy but talkative Weddell pup even went viral on the internet:
Yes I agree with Patricia Morris that the seal with the ‘hangover’ as well as the picture above are both images of the Southern elephant seal. Unless you are there for the birthing and breeding season, you are unlikely to see both adult males and adult females on the beach simultaneously. The silvery coats of two of your elephant seals look like newly molted fur. And if you think the males have large schnozzes down there, take a look at Mirounga angustirostris – the Northern Elephant seal – that one has the largest floppiest proboscis of the two!