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Animal Age

How old does a Weddell seal get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Weddell seal reaches?

An adult Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) usually gets as old as 25 years.

Weddell seals are around 314 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 27.4 kg (60.4 lbs) and measure 10.7 cm (0′ 5″). As a member of the Phocidae family (genus: Leptonychotes), their offspring is 1 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 2.55 meter (8′ 5″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Weddell seal gets as old as 25 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.

Animals of the same family as a Weddell seal

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Phocidae):

Animals that reach the same age as Weddell seal

With an average age of 25 years, Weddell seal are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Weddell seal

The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:

Weighting as much as Weddell seal

A fully grown Weddell seal reaches around 400 kg (881.85 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Weddell seal

Those animals grow as big as a Weddell seal: