What is special about the Weddell seal? | Polar Science

Whether or not a Weddell seal pup is molting determines when they’re ready to enter life in the water more than other developmental milestones, according to new research. A new study of Weddell seal pups in Erebus Bay, Antarctica finds molting status, rather than age or body mass, determines when a pup is ready to transition into adulthood. The results show pups who have finished molting are more prepared for life in the water than those who haven’t. It’s easier for pups with their adult fur coat grown in to stay warm in the frigid Southern Ocean, regardless of how much blubber the pups have packed on for insulation. “I don’t think we expected the molt, specifically, to be as important as it turned out to be,” said Linnea Pearson, a biologist at California Polytechnic State University and lead author of the new study. “We really expected blubber to be more important rather than the actual shedding of the fur.” Interestingly, the results show pups learning to swim who were still