Home News Swim first, hunt later: Young Weddell seals need to practice navigating before...

Swim first, hunt later: Young Weddell seals need to practice navigating before hunting

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Weddell seals, the southernmost born mammal, are known as champion divers. But they don’t begin life that way. Researchers examined the development of diving behavior in Weddell seal pups and found that they time their dives with their mother but likely do not learn to forage at that time. Instead, they focus their early efforts on learning to swim and navigate under the sea ice.