The crabeater seal is circumpolar in distribution, following the advancing and retreating pack ice of Antarctica. Natural History Both male and female adult seals are approximately 2.57 m, and weigh around 224 kg. The pelt is a uniform light gray, with irregular patches of spots and rings on the sides, and flippers.
Immature seals are darker in colour.
Males and females reach sexual maturity between 2.5 and 6 years of age, depending on food availability. Newborn pups have a soft, woolly, grey-brown lanugo, which is moulted about 2 weeks after birth. Mating occurs after the pups are weaned, between 14 and 21 days after birth. The crabeater seal is the most numerous of all the pinnipeds. Sources Reijnders, P. et al. 1993.