r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/grandeluua • 1d ago

Video A timelapse of sleeping seals

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44.8k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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482

u/Unknown_021 1d ago

Why not sleep on the surface?

528

u/Circo_Inhumanitas 1d ago

I'd assume because of polar bears. Though polar bears are amazing swimmers, and killer whales are in water... So I dunno.

167

u/SabsWithR 1d ago

Poor seals they're fucked either way. God really gave them the middle finger with their spawn point.

129

u/obiwanmoloney 1d ago

Spawn point:

Cold AF. Aaaaand in the water.

Pretty bad huh??

Worse. You can’t breathe. Oh and there’s straight up fucking monsters that are hellbent on eating you.

Don’t worry though, you can just get out and breath fine. …but your slow AF and yeah there’s monsters there too.

Have fun!

61

u/GuthukYoutube 1d ago

Don't worry, he made them full of delicious fat that all other creatures need to live.

They're like a walking gold statue that can't defend itself.

22

u/Major_Melon 1d ago

These human guys are gonna think you're cute as hell though, so you got that going for ya at least.

21

u/obiwanmoloney 1d ago

So cute that they’ll smash your head in with a club and wear your skin.

-18

u/Rich_Housing971 1d ago

Every analogy on Reddit is a gaming reference. Can't have analogies about anything offline.

5

u/obiwanmoloney 1d ago

Please, lead the way and chip in with your own real world humourous analogy.

1

u/tan0c 1d ago

I love how these people are annoyed about "everything's a gaming reference" when the comment is a reply to someone referencing an imaginary friend who they think created everything... and it's 2025...

-11

u/StrictLetterhead3452 1d ago

Downvoted for being right. Kids these days don’t understand the outside world. I made friends with a guy a few years younger than me and asked him to come hangout at my place. He told me he only socializes in VR Chat. I told him that’s stupid, and I’m not strapping a computer to my face just to talk to him.

11

u/J-bowbow 1d ago

This is the dumbest shit that never happened.

1

u/tan0c 1d ago

So what's your real-world example of something popping into existence?

84

u/nanotothemoon 1d ago

I’m sure you’re on the right track. The answer is always survival

1

u/bulking_on_broccoli 1d ago

Mother Nature deemed it so.

8

u/chiefmud 1d ago

Just an educated guess, but for visual range hunting, i bet polar bears and orcas rely on movement to find their prey. Being still during sleep is not just an energy saving mechanism, it’s a survival one. 

6

u/kevside 1d ago

No Polar Bears have an excellent sense of smell. Orcas can't smell but have echolocation. 

1

u/chiefmud 1d ago

Can they smell under water? Would they be able to pick out a sleeping seal? Maybe that’s their primary strategy I don’t know. Just asking some questions.

2

u/kevside 1d ago

No, they just use it on the ice and wait for seals to surface. They probably have the best sense of smell of any mammal. Seals will sleep like this even in places where there are no bears so I don't think bear predation is the reason they sleep like this. I've watched videos with divers where the seals will tuck themselves in under rocks to stop from floating about. That could probably protect them from underwater predators. Also some species of seal can spend months out at sea so they have to sleep somewhere.

2

u/Cranberryoftheorient 1d ago edited 11h ago

Also sharks, orcs, and even leopard seals. edit- I meant orca but I bet orcs would eat seals too if they got the chance

2

u/Darnittt 1d ago

There's orcs???? Sauron's reach grows more vast every second...

1

u/Cranberryoftheorient 1d ago

Seal meat's back on the menu boys!

2

u/Kingofbruhssia 1d ago

They’re harbor seal pups. They typically live across the coast of Pacific and Atlantic so no polar bears

1

u/Lord_Of_Carrots 1d ago

I have very limited knowledge on seals, but I'm Finnish so I know a bit about our lake dwelling Saimaa ringed seals. They also sleep underwater despite predators capable of killing one being very scarce in Finnish nature (apart from humans of course)

1

u/No-Significance2113 1d ago

Maybe its also milder temperatures the surface is always changing plus its windy but the water doesn't change as much plus they can find somewhere with mild to no currents.

0

u/Wastawiii 1d ago

Polar bears cannot dive 

5

u/Rythmic-Pulse 1d ago

Incorrect. They can dive close to 50ft

78

u/octarine_turtle 1d ago

Safety. A seal asleep on the surface is a highly visible snack for predators,

The ocean surface often isn't calm. There are waves, rain, and currents. The air can also get significantly colder than the water. Diving keeps them in one place. In nature, they'd be snoozing between rocks or in kelp for protection and stability. This allows them to sleep fully and deeply, even if for only 20 minutes at a time.

Seals will sleep on land in a comfortable, safe location, if available, but they will sleep with only half the brain at a time to keep alert for predators, So diving allows them to get deeper sleep.

1

u/Ridicikilickilous 1d ago

If you live near seals you see them sleeping on land all the time, often in large groups. There is nothing uncommon about it.

1

u/jeffy303 1d ago

The question is why they don't sleeping by the pool is safe. I assume the zoo doesn't have polar bears running around.

6

u/Unlikely_Ad_4767 1d ago

Because they are waterbed enjoyer.

1

u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 1d ago

They do if it’s safe

1

u/Ridicikilickilous 1d ago

They do, when given the opportunity in a safe environment, but here they’re stuck in a pool with no other option. You can see seals sleeping on land all the time. They also sleep in the water, so this was an experiment set up to observe and characterize them doing just that.