Polar scientists showed newborn Weddell seal pups. PHOTO
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Close to the “Akademik Vernadskyi” station, seals continue to be born. So far, polar explorers have counted 5 newborns.
All of them, along with their mothers, are on nearby Winter Island, the National Antarctic Science Center said.
Scientists so far know the gender of only three Weddell seals: two boys and a girl. The other two mothers are still not allowed.
By the way, the island is already “attacked” by suitor seals.
| Seal pups near “Vernadskyi”. Photo: National Antarctic Science Center |
“Weddell females can become pregnant as early as the second month after giving birth, so the males do not delay. True, in this case, the fertilized egg does not develop for another two months, so that the female’s body recovers before a new pregnancy.”– explains the biologist of the 28th UAE, Vadym Tkachenko.
So the males wait for the females underwater near the holes and constantly sing to attract attention.
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| Babies in Antarctica |
As scientists from “Vernadskyi” explained, pregnancy in Weddell seal females lasts 10 months. Each can give birth to only one seal weighing up to 30 kg. But he grows quickly and in a few months his weight reaches 400 kg.
For 7 weeks, the mother feeds the child with milk, and then the young individuals begin an independent life.
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| Weddell seals |
Weddell seals live relatively long – about 20 years.
We will remind that the first seal was born this year in the middle of September. His name was Anver.
Read also: Feathered neighbors: penguins “occupied” the meteorological field of Ukrainian scientists. PHOTO
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