---
title: "What the sources say about the Weddell Seal | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "38 claims from the Weddell Seal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Weddell Seal (*Leptonychotes weddellii*)

> 38 claims from the Weddell Seal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Weddell Seal](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/weddell-seal/)

## Weddell seal. Australian Antarctic Program, 2018.

https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/seals/weddell-seal/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The most southerly-ranging mammal living permanently in Antarctica | Weddell seals are the most southerly ranging mammal to permanently inhabit the continent. (note: tagline; scope kept to the source's 'permanently inhabit the continent') |
| rasping breathing holes through new sea ice with its teeth | Weddell seals use their canine and incisor teeth to rasp open the new ice and so maintain holes through which to breathe. (note: tagline) |
| diving as deep as 720 metres | remaining under water for up to 45 minutes and reaching depths as great as 720 m in search of prey (note: tagline) |
| Rasps breathing holes open through new sea ice with its canine and incisor teeth | Weddell seals use their canine and incisor teeth to rasp open the new ice and so maintain holes through which to breathe. (note: stats.superpower) |
| dives as deep as 720 metres | remaining under water for up to 45 minutes and reaching depths as great as 720 m in search of prey (note: stats.superpower) |
| Mid-water and bottom-dwelling fish, squid, octopus and prawns | mid-water (pelagic) and bottom dwelling (benthic) fish, squid, octopus and prawns are common (note: stats.diet) |
| Fast ice and inshore coastal waters around the continental coast of Antarctica | Weddell seals have a circumpolar distribution and are coastal, staying around the fast ice (note: stats.habitat) |
| Of all the mammals that live permanently in Antarctica, none ranges further south than the Weddell seal | Weddell seals are the most southerly ranging mammal to permanently inhabit the continent. (note: body, section 1) |
| which lives on and around the fast ice all the way round the continent's coast | Weddell seals have a circumpolar distribution and are coastal, staying around the fast ice (note: body, section 1; 'all the way round' = circumpolar) |
| Adults of both sexes are about 3 metres long and weigh around 400 to 500 kg | Both adult males and females are about 3 metres long and weigh around 400-500 kg. (note: body, section 1; ADW (2000) sex-specific lengths dropped, AAP (2018) is the current institution page) |
| venturing only 15 to 20 km into the Southern Ocean to feed | venturing only 15-20 km into the Southern Ocean to feed (note: body, section 1) |
| return to the same area of fast ice each year to rest, moult and give birth | Weddell seals haul-out onto the stable fast-ice to rest and moult, and for females to pup, returning to the same area each year. (note: body, section 1) |
| In the warmer summer months the ice has many cracks to breathe through. In winter those openings freeze over | There are many cracks in the ice during the warmer summer months. During winter these openings freeze over (note: body, section 2) |
| using their canines and incisors to rasp open the new ice and maintain a breathing hole | Weddell seals use their canine and incisor teeth to rasp open the new ice and so maintain holes through which to breathe. (note: body, section 2) |
| the constant grinding wears those teeth down, and enough wear may eventually leave a seal unable to feed or keep its holes open | Maintaining these breathing holes results in teeth wearing down to such an extent that the animal may eventually be unable to feed or keep the precious holes open. (note: body, section 2) |
| Hunting dives can last up to 45 minutes and reach depths as great as 720 metres | remaining under water for up to 45 minutes and reaching depths as great as 720 m in search of prey (note: body, section 3) |
| a diet of pelagic and bottom-dwelling fish, squid, octopus and prawns; one seal was repeatedly observed to capture a fish weighing more than 40 kg | mid-water (pelagic) and bottom dwelling (benthic) fish, squid, octopus and prawns are common. One seal was repeatedly observed to capture a fish weighing more than 40 kg. (note: body, section 3) |
| the space beneath it is relatively safe from air-breathing predators such as killer whales and leopard seals | The under-ice environment is relatively safe from air breathing predators such as killer whales and leopard seals (note: body, section 3) |
| Recorded Weddell seal calls include repeated chirps, a long high whistle falling in tone, or a single, slowly descending tone | This call is a long high whistle, falling in tone. ... This call consists of repeated chirps. ... This call is a single, slowly descending tone. (note: body, section 4; three AAP underwater-call audio captions) |
| Both sexes call, and males may do so to hold their underwater territories | Both male and female seals vocalise, males may do so to maintain established territories. (note: body, section 4) |
| Females aged six and over give birth to one pup a year, in October | Females of 6 years and over give birth in October to 1 pup per year. (note: body, section 4) |
| A newborn weighs 25 to 30 kg; after six weeks of its mother's care it has grown to 110 to 140 kg | Pups weigh 25-30 kg at birth and mothers care for them for 6 weeks by which time they have grown to 110-140 kg. (note: body, section 4) |
| It makes its own. Working at the freshly frozen surface with its canine and incisor teeth, a seal rasps a breathing hole open and keeps it that way | During winter these openings freeze over and Weddell seals use their canine and incisor teeth to rasp open the new ice and so maintain holes through which to breathe. (note: FAQ 1) |
| it has to find those holes again in the darkness of winter before its oxygen runs out | A seal must find its way to the breathing holes before it runs out of oxygen. Their powers of navigation must be highly accurate as they must find these holes even during the darkness of winter. (note: FAQ 1) |
| worn-down teeth may eventually leave a seal unable to feed or hold its holes open | Maintaining these breathing holes results in teeth wearing down to such an extent that the animal may eventually be unable to feed or keep the precious holes open. (note: FAQ 1) |
| The fast ice is where they haul out to rest, moult and give birth | Weddell seals haul-out onto the fast-ice to rest and moult, and for females to pup. (note: FAQ 3) |
| the water beneath it is relatively safe from air-breathing predators such as killer whales and leopard seals | The under-ice environment is relatively safe from air breathing predators such as killer whales and leopard seals (note: FAQ 3) |
| Underwater they usually keep within 50 to 100 km of their breeding colony, though some, especially juveniles, make occasional journeys of several hundred kilometres | Underwater they remain relatively close to their breeding colonies, usually within 50-100 km though occasional migrations of several hundred kilometres do occur, especially by juveniles. (note: FAQ 3) |
| Under the fast ice, Weddell seals call to each other in long whistles falling in tone, strings of repeated chirps and single, slowly descending tones. | This call is a long high whistle, falling in tone. Weddell seal underwater call 2 This call consists of repeated chirps. Weddell seal underwater call 3 This call is a single, slowly descending tone. |

## Weddell Seal. National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/weddell-seal

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| National Geographic gives the species' average life span in the wild as 30 years | Average Life Span In The Wild : 30 years (note: body, section 4; reference work, basic fact only, attributed) |
| National Geographic lists the Weddell seal's average life span in the wild as 30 years | Average Life Span In The Wild : 30 years (note: FAQ 4) |

## Williams et al. (2007). Running, swimming and diving modifies neuroprotecting globins in the mammalian brain. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.1484

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| can stay under for more than 90 minutes with no neurological or behavioural impairment | Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), which can remain underwater for more than 90 min while exhibiting no neurological or behavioural impairment. (note: stats.superpower) |
| A Weddell seal can stay underwater for more than 90 minutes with no neurological or behavioural impairment | Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), which can remain underwater for more than 90 min while exhibiting no neurological or behavioural impairment. (note: blockquote; background statement in the abstract of a brain-globin study, not a result of it, so no study is credited) |
| even though its blood oxygen falls to levels that would leave a human unconscious | This response occurs despite exposure to blood oxygen levels concomitant with human unconsciousness. (note: blockquote; the human comparison is the paper's own) |
| A human brain can be injured after just a few minutes of oxygen deprivation underwater | The vulnerability of the human brain to injury following just a few minutes of oxygen deprivation with submergence (note: FAQ 2) |
| a study measuring oxygen-carrying proteins in the cerebral cortex of 16 mammal species found a nearly 9.5-fold range in haemoglobin between land mammals and deep divers | we measured the presence of circulating (haemoglobin) and resident (neuroglobin and cytoglobin) oxygen-carrying globins in the cerebral cortex of 16 mammalian species considered terrestrial, swimming or diving specialists. Here we report a striking difference in globin levels depending on activity lifestyle. A nearly 9.5-fold range in haemoglobin concentration (0.17-1.62 g Hb 100 g brain wet wt(-1)) occurred between terrestrial and deep-diving mammals (note: FAQ 2; the abstract does not say whether Weddell seals were among the 16, hence 'may lie' and 'deep divers') |
| The authors conclude these proteins help move oxygen into nerve tissue, letting marine mammals keep sensory and locomotor functions working during prolonged submergence | Together, these two globin groups provide complementary mechanisms for facilitating oxygen transfer into neural tissues and the potential for protection against reactive oxygen and nitrogen groups. This enables marine mammals to maintain sensory and locomotor neural functions during prolonged submergence (note: FAQ 2) |

## Hückstädt (2026). Leptonychotes weddellii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T11696A95969474.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t11696a95969474.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF's copy of the Red List) |