📸 PhotoPhoto: Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Weddell Seal
Leptonychotes weddellii (Weddell Seal · ウェッデルアザラシ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A female's body length of 3.5 m is about 3/4 the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its weight of 600 kg equals 60 bags of 10 kg rice (Comparison).
- 💡 In the past it was used as dog food, and it has aided parasite studies as well as vocalization research aimed at communicating with animals, much like dolphin studies (ADW).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Weddell Seal lives on Antarctic fast ice and in the sea, with females larger than males. It stays among the ice year-round.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Adults have dark gray fur marked with black and lighter gray patches. When the ice is thin enough, it gnaws breathing holes with its canine teeth.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds on Antarctic fish, squid, and crustaceans, diving up to 600 m for up to one hour. It also blows bubbles into ice cracks to flush out hidden fish and catch them, and pups are born on the sea ice.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2026) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11696/95969474
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1005916
- • iucnredlist.org — 95969474
- • wikidata.org — Q313166
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Mikkelsen Harbour-2016-Trinity Island (D'Hainaut Island
- • animaldiversity.org — Leptonychotes weddellii
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · CC BY 4.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.