How many baby Weddell seals are in a litter?
A Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) usually gives birth to around 1 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 314 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 27.4 kg (60.4 lbs) and measure 10.7 cm (0′ 5″). They are a member of the Phocidae family (genus: Leptonychotes). An adult Weddell seal grows up to a size of 2.55 meter (8′ 5″).
To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.
The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is a relatively large and abundant true seal (family: Phocidae) with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing captain James Weddell to the area of the Southern Ocean now known as the Weddell Sea. The life history of this species is well documented since it occupies fast ice environments close to the Antarctic continent and often adjacent to Antarctic bases.
Other animals of the family Phocidae
Weddell seal is a member of the Phocidae, as are these animals:
- Leopard seal becoming 26 years old
- Ribbon seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Hawaiian monk seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Mediterranean monk seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Southern elephant seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Northern elephant seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Caspian seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Harbor seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Harp seal with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Crabeater seal becoming 39 years old
Animals that share a litter size with Weddell seal
Those animals also give birth to 1 babies at once:
- Straw-coloured fruit bat
- Northeast African mole-rat
- Bactrian camel
- Hirola
- East Caucasian tur
- Daubenton’s bat
- South American sea lion
- Ryukyu flying fox
- Java mouse-deer
- Tufted pygmy squirrel
Animals that get as old as a Weddell seal
Other animals that usually reach the age of 25 years:
- African civet with 28 years
- Gelada with 28 years
- Rodrigues flying fox with 30 years
- Proboscis monkey with 21 years
- Roan antelope with 20 years
- Sika deer with 25.42 years
- Bechstein’s bat with 21 years
- Red wolf with 20 years
- Daubenton’s bat with 28 years
- Bennett’s tree-kangaroo with 20 years
Animals with the same weight as a Weddell seal
What other animals weight around 400 kg (881.85 lbs)?
- Horse usually reaching 401.8 kgs (885.82 lbs)
- Risso’s dolphin usually reaching 387.25 kgs (853.74 lbs)
- Grévy’s zebra usually reaching 405.5 kgs (893.97 lbs)
- African manatee usually reaching 454 kgs (1000.9 lbs)
- Amazonian manatee usually reaching 418 kgs (921.53 lbs)
- Steller sea lion usually reaching 383.23 kgs (844.88 lbs)
- West Indian manatee usually reaching 467.16 kgs (1029.91 lbs)
- Moose usually reaching 471.45 kgs (1039.37 lbs)
- Polar bear usually reaching 373.35 kgs (823.09 lbs)
- Leopard seal usually reaching 352.84 kgs (777.88 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Weddell seal
Also reaching around 2.55 meter (8′ 5″) in size do these animals:
- Amazonian manatee gets as big as 2.75 meter (9′ 1″)
- Bongo (antelope) gets as big as 2.27 meter (7′ 6″)
- European bison gets as big as 2.9 meter (9′ 7″)
- Spinner dolphin gets as big as 2.13 meter (7′ 0″)
- Hawaiian monk seal gets as big as 2.24 meter (7′ 5″)
- Striped dolphin gets as big as 2.3 meter (7′ 7″)
- Mediterranean monk seal gets as big as 2.6 meter (8′ 7″)
- Tamaraw gets as big as 2.2 meter (7′ 3″)
- Dwarf sperm whale gets as big as 2.16 meter (7′ 2″)
- Grévy’s zebra gets as big as 2.7 meter (8′ 11″)