Weddell Seal
Leptonychotes weddellii
Also known as: Weddell's Seal
About This Species
This large, mottled seal hauls out on fast ice and ice floes around Antarctica, often near tide cracks and breathing holes it maintains with its teeth. Look for them basking in groups on ice in the austral spring and summer, when pups are also present. Underwater, they are known for their varied vocal repertoire of whistles and trills, audible even through the ice.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Maintain at least 15 metres of separation from hauled-out seals and always more from mothers with pups, moving slowly and avoiding routes that force an animal into the water.
- Under the Antarctic Treaty and associated environmental protocols, all Antarctic wildlife is protected and deliberate disturbance is prohibited.
- If a seal raises its head, stops resting or moves away, you are already too close and should withdraw.
LCMammaliaCarnivoraPhocidae
Seasonal Activity
355,267 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Phocidae
Photo
(c) Kim, Hyun-tae, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kim, Hyun-tae
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.