![Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) and her young pup](http://static.sciencelearn.org.nz/images/images/000/003/872/full/OCS_ART_12_Weddell_Seals_Seal_Pup_Kisses.jpg?1674172345)
A Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) and her young pup. During the breeding season, females rearing their pups gather in colonies along cracks in the ‘fast ice’ – sea ice adjacent to land or ice shelves that is continuous except for small cracks caused by tidal action.