Mammals
Crabeater Seal
Lobodon carcinophaga · also called crabeater seals
Hauled out on a drifting sheet of Antarctic pack ice, a crabeater seal rests after a night spent straining vast quantities of krill through its uniquely lobed teeth, one of tens of millions of individuals making this species likely the most numerous large wild mammal on the planet after humans.
Overview
The crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophaga, is an extraordinarily abundant krill-filtering seal native to pack ice and open water habitat across the Southern Ocean surrounding the Antarctic continent. Its likely status as the most numerous large wild mammal on Earth after humans, uniquely lobed krill-filtering teeth, and misleading common name make it one of the more genuinely surprising and ecologically significant marine mammals found anywhere in the world.
An overlooked giant of Antarctic abundance
Despite its enormous population numbering in the tens of millions, the crabeater seal remains far less famous than many of its Antarctic neighbours, quietly filtering krill by the mouthful across some of the most remote pack ice on the planet.
Status
Least Concern, extremely abundant across suitable pack ice habitat throughout the Southern Ocean, with an estimated population in the tens of millions.
Crabeater Seal: common questions
Why is the crabeater seal called that if it doesn't eat crabs?
Despite its common name, this species feeds almost entirely on krill rather than crabs, a naming mismatch that has persisted historically even though it does not accurately reflect the species' actual diet, which relies on uniquely lobed teeth specifically adapted for filtering tiny krill.
How abundant is the crabeater seal really?
This species is believed to be the most abundant large wild mammal species on the planet after humans, with a population estimated in the tens of millions across the Southern Ocean, a scale of abundance that surprises many people given how rarely the species is discussed compared with more famous Antarctic wildlife.
How does the crabeater seal filter krill from water?
This species has distinctively lobed, interlocking teeth that create a sieve-like structure inside the mouth, allowing it to take in a large mouthful of seawater and krill together, then expel the water while trapping the krill for consumption.
Why do many crabeater seals have visible scars?
Many individuals of this species carry visible scars from encounters with leopard seals and orcas, both significant predators of crabeater seals, particularly while they are young, evidence of substantial predation pressure despite the species' overall population success.