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Home > Native Plants & Animals > Animals of Tasmania > Mammals > Seals > Crab-eater Seal

Crab-eater Seal

The crab-eater seal breeds on the Antarctic pack ice; however, there have been over 20 reports of this species on the Australian mainland.

There have been three records of crab-eater seals in Tasmania. The first was in 1945 when a carcass was found at Ralphs Bay. In 1996 a dead crab-eater was also found in North West Bay (south of Hobart). In October 1999 a live crab-eater was found at Primrose Sands. This is the first reported live sighting of this species in Tasmania.

Contrary to their name, the crab-eater seal does not eat crabs but feeds almost exclusively on krill ‚ small shrimp like crustaceans. They sieve krill from the water with the cusps of their teeth. Crab-eater seals have been found to dive as deep as 300m.

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