November 3, 1996

It was Sunday afternoon when I finally had the chance to meet with the Weddell seal research group S-009, or "Sealheads," as they are known. Don Siniff, a professor at the University of Minnesota, was known to me from my research and I had contact with a number of his former students in past field work; it seems he has mentored a whole generation of marine and polar biologists. Don recently arrived to join the rest of the Sealheads--Tom Gelatt, Dan Monson, Mike Cameron and Rob Jensen--who have all been working out of a field camp at Big Razorback Island on McMurdo Sound.

Don 's background is wonderfully varied; he was a statistician and computer programmer who became involved in wildlife biology and ecology. He has been coming down to the ice and studying seals for the past 30 years. The work on Weddell seals--the southernmost species of pinniped--focuses largely on population dynamics. For the last several weeks, the team has been busy tagging new pups and retagging older seals. The tags, which measure about 3 inches by 3/4 of an inch are attached to the seals' hind flippers. This enables the researchers to keep track of the animals over a long period of time. They recently came across a male who had not been seen since he was a pup 11 years ago. Tom's work for his PhD involves paternity issues and he has been gathering blood samples for DNA analysis and genetic work. Dan is on leave from his job in Anchorage with the Biology section of the US Geological Survey and, like the rest of the group, has come to work on the study. Mike is a new graduate student at Minnesota and Rob a graduate student out of Idaho and a wolf biologist who has been working with the Nez Perce tribe. Between them, they have had considerable wildlife experience--in field biology, management and administration. It is reflected in their knowledge, professionalism and the ease with which they deal with the challenges and frustrations of Antarctic field work. I felt fortunate being able to join such a good group of guys.

I had spoken with Don back in the spring about making some Weddell seal recordings and he encouraged me to time my visit at the end of the pupping season; the breeding season follows very quickly. Territorial males are particularly active within a two-week window, during which mating takes place.

"The Sealheads"	Don Siniff, Principal Investigator
Rob Jensen	Dan Monson
Mike Cameron	Tom Gelatt