While we await word from the 2021 Antarctic field team currently undergoing managed isolated quarantine in Christchurch, New Zealand in preparation for heading to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, I thought I'd post this black & white video of a Weddell seal mom giving birth to her new pup. This video was shot during the 2011 Weddell seal pupping season when I deployed with the field team and was able to do a lot of filming. I've been making videos about this project since 2008 when I first deployed to produce videos for the International Polar Year, and created short video portraits for the Women Working In Antarctica Project and interviewed then MS student Jen Mannas about the work of the Weddell seal project.
During the upcoming pupping season in Erebus Bay we will be posting updates from the field and articles about Weddell seals. We'll also be delving further into the importance of studying this population of Weddell seals and adding to a dataset that is now over 50 years old. You can check out more of our videos on our YouTube Channel and learn more about the Weddell population study on our outreach website.
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