So still. At many places I mistook them to be rocks. They were mammoth seals of Antarctica. Lazing around. In exquisite white and exotic black colors. Oblivious of the surroundings. I was delighted seeing them in so much peace.
When first time zodiac driver noticed seals while cruising, me and my fellow occupants in zodiac got super excited. And hoped to see them do some activity but none of the seal moved. They were stationary. With zodiac engine switched off, so that there is no sound distraction, we waited. In fact, had to wait quite long to see one seal rise. And I was thrilled seeing majestic weddell seal.
Seals are integral part of Antarctica’s ecosystem. I saw plenty of them basking in sun. They showed no fear of human visitors. Never moved when anyone approached near. Seals remain under sea ice most of the time and dive deep to find their prey. They mainly eat krill and fish. In summer they come over Antarctica land and ice floes to breed.
I will never forget one exciting instance when me and one charismatic seal gazed at each other. I blurted out, “hey handsome!” And seal opened his mouth complimenting me. I giggled, waved at him and moved seeing my guide signalling me to come back. I narrated the sweet incident to my guide and she burst in laughter.
Seals are huge aquatic mammals. Six species of seals are found in Antarctica. These are weddell, crabeater, elephant, ross, leopard and fur seals. I was elated that I happened to see most of them closely. They may have weighed from few hundred kgs to few thousand kgs. I had seen seals earlier in water parks of Australia. But seeing them in Antarctica, in their natural habitat, was truly an amazing experience.
MY ANTARCTIC ODYSSEY continues ….
What an amazing trip! Seals have always been my favorite animal, I’ve been trying to get the Canadian seal hunt stopped since middle school too many years ago to count. Now I live in Denmark where people wear seal skin coats and no one bats an eye. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that 🙁
I loved your photos and reading about the seals, they seem every bit as wonderful as I thought they would be!
Thank you. This had been wonderful experience for me.
wow this is so awesome! great pics1
Oh my word that’s incredible! I can’t believe you got to be so close to the animals!
Even now when I recall I get so excited.
As soon as I opened this post I saw snow and seals and I my first expression was wowwwww… Seriously these clicks are so pretty and I really hope you had a great time there.
Thank you Monidipa
This looks absolutely amazing and I would love to see seals in the wild here. I can’t believe how heavy they can be! What an incredible trip!
Incredible indeed for me. Seals in different species I encountered.
I loved your photos. They are so beautiful. the seals are so cute. lol. I really hope you had a great time.
Absolutely great time I enjoyed.
Amazing photoshoots. It’s looks like something out of an animation Disney movie
Thank you. It had been most thrilling experience to shoot in Antarctica.
what a fantastic experience! I have seen seals in their natural habitat in the south Atlantic coast of Argentina, they were quite still too!
Yes, so huge and still.
What a great post and experience! the photos are lovely…i love Seals 🙂
I know that seals can be terrifying but they’re just so adorable not to appreciate. I’ve watched countless videos of seals trying to slide and..er, run I think? Haha, however they move is what I mean. If only there is a way for me to live realistically in Antartica, I would gladly do so in a heartbeat!
Perfectly so. In a heartbeat.
This sounds like such a great experience. Seals look so lovely, it was nice they were relaxed having people around too.
I love reading about seals and animal life in general this was such an informative article for me brought back childhood memorys.