A very rare visitor to New Zealand from Antarctica. A seal that lives under the ice. This seal is named after British explorer James Weddell, who led expeditions into the Southern Ocean in the 1820s. It is famous for its ability to live under Antarctic ice, using its teeth to maintain breathing holes in the frozen surface. The teeth wear down over time, and old Weddell seals can have severely damaged jaws from years of scraping against ice. It is a hard life, but it is the only life they know. A seal that grinds its teeth down. The Weddell seal is a deep diver. It can reach depths of over 400 metres and stay submerged for more than an hour. Under the ice, it hunts for fish and squid in near-total darkness, using its sensitive whiskers to detect prey. It returns to the same breathing hole time after time, memorising the underwater landscape. When the ice shifts or the hole freezes over, it must find or create another. The seal's entire existence is shaped by the ice. It breeds on the ice. It rests on the ice. It hides from predators like leopard seals under the ice. The ice is its home. When a Weddell seal appears in New Zealand, it is a long way from home. The journey north requires swimming through warmer water than it prefers. The seal may be exhausted, confused, or sick. It may have followed a current or been pushed by a storm. Whatever the reason, its presence is rare. Only a handful of records exist. The beach is cold. The Weddell seal rests on the sand, exhausted, far from the ice. It should be in Antarctica. It is here instead. No one knows why. It stays for a few days, then slips back into the sea. It may return south, or it may die. It does not know it is a rare visitor. It does not know it is a ghost. It just wanted to rest. The Weddell seal is a ghost from the ice, and it does not leave many traces.