PLAYTIME Cristobal Serrano meets a happy seal THIS
crabeater seal was left open-mouthed when it spotted photographer Cristobal Serrano off Cuverville Island, at the tip of Antarctica.
Antarctica also has four varieties of seals; the
crabeater seal, the Weddell seal, the elephant seal and the leopard seal."
There are four strictly Antarctic seals, although some individuals may stray as far as the southern coasts of South America, Africa, and Australia, such as the
crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus), the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossi), and the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx).
Crabeater seal cohort variation: demographic signal or statistical noise.'?
On ice, however, the Antarctic
crabeater seal is the fastest sprinter, reaching reported speeds of up to 25 km per hour when chased.
While no modern whales use their teeth to feed this way, Mitchell notes that the
Crabeater seal, which does not eat crabs, has notched teeth that is uses to filter krill and other invertebrates.
With humpback whales bubblenetting,
crabeater seals and Gentoo penguins the trip started on a high note.
The enormous gaur can scarcely fit on his page and the text has to squeeze around his body, while the
crabeater seals, which are extremely numerous, are crowded on to their page with no room to spare.
The Ross Sea slope is also considered a 'hotspot' for the rare Arnoux's beaked whale and is home to more than two hundred thousand
crabeater seals, perhaps 8000 leopard seals and 5000 Ross seals.
Up close, killer whales hunt the floes for sleeping
crabeater seals, while cape petrels, those checkerboard flyers of the cold waters, surf the air curls streaming off the ship.
The data recovered from tagged
Crabeater seals and Adelie penguins revealed their diving and feeding behavior, and researchers discovered some movements that they hadn't suspected.