# Crabeater Seal (Lobodon carcinophaga)

- Web page: https://www.funwildfacts.com/norden/mammal/crabeater-seal
- Published: 2026-02-26
- Last updated: 2026-02-26

## Overview

The crabeater seal is a slender, muscular phocid seal with pale brown to grayish fur that bleaches to an almost white or cream color after molting, a narrow pointed snout, and large dark eyes. Despite its common name, it rarely eats crabs, instead feeding almost exclusively on Antarctic krill which it strains from the water using its highly specialized, multi-cusped teeth. It is one of the most abundant large mammals on Earth and plays a pivotal role in the Antarctic food web as a primary krill consumer. Crabeater seals are agile swimmers capable of reaching speeds up to 25 km/h and spend significant time foraging beneath and around pack ice. Leopard seals are their main predator, particularly targeting pups, and most adult crabeater seals bear distinctive parallel scars as evidence of survived attacks.

## Quick facts

- Weight: 200–300 kg
- Length: 2.2–2.6 m
- Top Speed: 25 km/h
- Lifespan: 20–26 yrs
- Diet: Carnivore
- Conservation Status: Least Concern

## Habitat

Crabeater seals inhabit the pack ice zone surrounding Antarctica, using floating ice floes as resting platforms and pupping sites, and ranging into the surrounding Southern Ocean to feed. Their distribution closely follows the seasonal expansion and contraction of sea ice.

- pack_ice
- Ocean
- ice

## Seasonal Behavior

In summer, crabeater seals move northward with receding pack ice, while in autumn and winter they shift southward as ice expands. Pupping and mating occur on pack ice during the austral spring, primarily from September to November.

## Breeding

- Gestation: 270 days
- Offspring: 1–1 

## Behavior & Ecology

- Activity Pattern: Diurnal
- Social Behavior: Crabeater seals are generally solitary or occur in loose aggregations on ice floes, though they may gather in larger groups where food is abundant. During the breeding season, males form temporary pair bonds with females and actively defend them against rival males.
- Migration: Nomadic
- Population: Population estimates range widely from 7 to 75 million individuals, with most current estimates suggesting approximately 15 million seals, making the crabeater seal one of the most numerous large mammal species on Earth.

## Did you know?

- Despite being called crabeater seals, they almost never eat crabs – their diet consists of up to 90% Antarctic krill.
- Their teeth have evolved elaborate interlocking cusps that act as a sieve to filter krill from the water, convergently similar in function to whale baleen.
- Nearly all adult crabeater seals carry parallel scars on their bodies from leopard seal attacks survived during their youth.
- Crabeater seals may collectively consume more krill than any other species on the planet, making them a keystone species in the Antarctic ecosystem.

## Taxonomy

- Kingdom: Animalia
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Family: Phocidae
- Species: Lobodon carcinophaga

## Image

- URL: https://images.djurfakta.com/animals/krabbtatarsal/2.jpg
- Photo: (c) María Regina Silva, some rights reserved (CC BY)
- License: CC BY

## Other languages

- sv: https://www.djurfakta.com/norden/mammal/krabbtatarsal
- da: https://www.dyrefakta.com/da/norden/mammal/krabbtatarsal
- no: https://www.dyrefakta.com/norden/mammal/krabbtatarsal