Breeds on generally rocky, boulder-strewn beaches near tussock grass or other vegetation. Fur Seals breed in harems, and males can be formidable opponents to rivals and human visitors. Their main food is krill, fish and squid. Estimated South Georgia population exceeds 300,000 breeding cows. Circumpolar on pack ice and shelf ice.
Females are slightly larger.
Weddell seals have a circumpolar distribution, living farther south than any other mammal. Fast ice shelf ice is their main home year round, but species has been recorded in pack ice. Pups are born in colonies in September and October, on fast ice near cracks and holes that allow their mothers access to water. Excessive tooth wear occurs as animals use their incisors and canines to scrape away at the ice to keep their breathing holes open. Weddells are the best studied of the four Antarctic seals, because they can be more easily approached over fast ice then can the pack ice species.