What is the habitat of a crabeater seal?
The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga ) enjoys the largest population of the entire world’s seal species, with the Antarctic Connection website placing their numbers at a round 30 million. The crabeater seal has an odd name, since it does not eat crabs.HabitatThe crabeater seal lives on the pack ice that surrounds Antarctica and is a species relegated to the Southern Hemisphere. The seal spends much of its time on ice floes and in the water hunting for food.GeographyIn the winter months, crabeater seals will sometimes travel as far north as the islands off New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and South America. Once spring approaches, the seals will migrate back south.Seals on LandWhile most seals are somewhat helpless on land, the crabeater seal is not. Some will actually make their way miles inland on the Antarctic continent.DietCrabeater seals consume huge amounts of a tiny sea creature called krill, catching the krill during shallow dives into the icy water.
