In the frigid waters beneath Antarctica’s ice, something almost no one has ever seen slipped into view.
Underwater photographer Justin Hofman captured what may be the first known images of a Ross seal swimming freely underwater. For scientists and wildlife photographers alike, this moment borders on the unbelievable.
Ross seals are the rarest and least understood of all Antarctic seals. They live far from shore, deep within heavy pack ice, surfacing only briefly and unpredictably. Their enormous eyes, adapted for dim underwater light, give them an almost cartoonish expression, curious, gentle, and strangely human. Yet despite decades of polar research, they are seldom observed, and almost never photographed in their natural underwater world.
Hofman has spent 15 seasons working in Antarctica. In all that time, he had encountered only two Ross seals, both fleeting sightings at the surface. This time was different. The seal approached calmly, hovering in the blue water as if aware of the camera, creating what feels like a quiet, unplanned exchange between species.
The image matters for more than its charm. Until now, most knowledge of Ross seals came from brief surface observations and stranded individuals. Seeing one underwater offers rare insight into how they move, orient, and interact in the environment where they spend most of their lives. It confirms what scientists long suspected, that these animals are true pelagic specialists, preferring the deep ocean over ice floes or beaches.
Often called the “ghost of the ice,” the Ross seal avoids ships, people, and attention. Its population size is still uncertain, and its behavior remains one of Antarctica’s enduring mysteries. That is what makes this encounter so powerful. It was not staged, tracked, or pursued. It happened because two beings crossed paths in the same place at the same moment.
For a species that has spent its evolutionary history unseen, one image can quietly expand our understanding.
Sometimes discovery does not arrive through data or diagrams. Sometimes it swims up, looks straight at the lens, and vanishes back into the blue.
Follow Know Your Planet for moments when the rarest life on Earth briefly steps into view, reminding us how much of the planet still moves beyond our sight.