Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Sound asleep

Weddell seals eat large fishes beneath the ice in Antarctica, such as toothfish. After a bout of feeding, they come ashore to sleep on snow banks. Both in and out of the water, they produce a loud, otherworldly down-swept call, like lazer sounds in a sci-fi movie. They clearly 'sing' while they sleep. As I photographed this sleeping beauty, it sang and I couldn't help wondering if it was dreaming. And if so, of what?

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 12.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: D'Hanaut Island, Antarctica
Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Copyright: © Conor Ryan