These are crabeater seals, probably
the most numerous large mammals on earth after humans.These
are resting on a large ice floe floating in broken summer ice near the Antarctic
peninsula. Though they are so numerous, it is unusual to see many crabeater
seals together as they live almost their entire lives on and amongst floating
ice. For this reason also, it is difficult to estimate their numbers, but by
2000 there were thought to be about 50 million.
Crabeaters
are large seals of about 220kg (484lb). They are frequently scarred, sometimes
quite badly by predatory leopard seals or killer whales.
Crabeaters
are fairly solitary, and the males and females are about the same size as the
males do not need to be large to compete for a harem of females as in elephant
and fur seals.
Photo; © Paul Ward - Pentax equipment,
100mm
lens, 35mm film, K64.
This picture may not be copied or used in any manner without
prior written permission.
