Photo of the Day 268

Weddell Seals, Antarctica, 2006

Photograph by Maria Stenzel

A mother Weddell seal and her calf swim beneath Antarctic ice. Weddell seals can dive as deep as 2,000 feet (610 meters), but frequently stay in the shallows to avoid predators such as sharks and orcas.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Underworld: South Sandwich Islands," December 2006, National Geographic magazine)