It is hard to guess what a Weddell seal weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) on average weights 400 kg (881.85 lbs).
The Weddell seal is from the family Phocidae (genus: Leptonychotes). It is usually born with about 27.4 kg (60.4 lbs). They can live for up to 25 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 2.55 meter (8′ 5″). Usually, Weddell seals have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
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.
Animals of the same family as a Weddell seal
We found other animals of the Phocidae family:
- Ribbon seal bringing 90 kilos (198.42 lbs) to the scale
- Ross seal bringing 208.63 kilos (459.95 lbs) to the scale
- Leopard seal bringing 352.84 kilos (777.88 lbs) to the scale
- Northern elephant seal bringing 1116.2 kilos (2460.8 lbs) to the scale
- Crabeater seal bringing 225 kilos (496.04 lbs) to the scale
- Ringed seal bringing 71.1 kilos (156.75 lbs) to the scale
- Hooded seal bringing 278.95 kilos (614.98 lbs) to the scale
- Hawaiian monk seal bringing 223 kilos (491.63 lbs) to the scale
- Crabeater seal bringing 225 kilos (496.04 lbs) to the scale
- Baikal seal bringing 89.5 kilos (197.31 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Weddell seal
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Leptonychotes weddellii:
- Steller sea lion with a weight of 383.23 kilos (844.88 lbs)
- Risso’s dolphin with a weight of 387.25 kilos (853.74 lbs)
- Pygmy sperm whale with a weight of 431.25 kilos (950.74 lbs)
- Polar bear with a weight of 373.35 kilos (823.09 lbs)
- Moose with a weight of 471.45 kilos (1039.37 lbs)
- Amazonian manatee with a weight of 418 kilos (921.53 lbs)
- Leopard seal with a weight of 352.84 kilos (777.88 lbs)
- Grévy’s zebra with a weight of 405.5 kilos (893.97 lbs)
- West Indian manatee with a weight of 467.16 kilos (1029.91 lbs)
- Plains zebra with a weight of 400 kilos (881.85 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Weddell seal
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Weddell seal:
- Moose with a size of 2.1 meter (6′ 11″)
- Sumatran rhinoceros with a size of 2.77 meter (9′ 2″)
- Baird’s tapir with a size of 2.2 meter (7′ 3″)
- Amazon river dolphin with a size of 2.12 meter (7′ 0″)
- Irrawaddy dolphin with a size of 2.5 meter (8′ 3″)
- Sambar deer with a size of 2.04 meter (6′ 9″)
- Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin with a size of 2.37 meter (7′ 10″)
- American bison with a size of 2.85 meter (9′ 5″)
- Grévy’s zebra with a size of 2.7 meter (8′ 11″)
- Sambar deer with a size of 2.04 meter (6′ 9″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Weddell seal
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Weddell seal:
- Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat
- Grivet
- Hector’s dolphin
- Northern viscacha
- Australian sea lion
- Cantor’s roundleaf bat
- Tana River red colobus
- Lesser kudu
- Dusky pademelon
- Large mosaic-tailed rat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Weddell seal
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Weddell seal:
- Finless porpoise with an average maximal age of 23 years
- Daubenton’s bat with an average maximal age of 28 years
- Hawaiian monk seal with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo with an average maximal age of 21 years
- Indian hog deer with an average maximal age of 20 years
- Western grey kangaroo with an average maximal age of 20 years
- West Caucasian tur with an average maximal age of 20.5 years
- Red wolf with an average maximal age of 20 years
- Binturong with an average maximal age of 22.67 years
- Common eland with an average maximal age of 24.33 years