Polar explorers at the Vernadsky Station gave a symbolic name to a newborn seal.

Polar explorers from the «Akademik Vernadsky» station chose a name for the first born seal of this year - SeaBaby Svitozarovych. The seal was named in honor of the Ukrainian sea drone and biologist Svitozar Davidenko, who first found it.

Usually, Weddell seals are born at the beginning of the Antarctic spring, and each female gives birth to one pup.

Earlier, polar explorers asked their subscribers to help choose a name for the newborn. "In total, we received almost 400 ideas with names for the newborn seal on Facebook and Instagram. Mykola, Petryk, Hetman, Pager, Donut, Schnitzel, Sirko, Frodo, Zymko, Torpi, Kavunchyk and even Penguin - the proposals were very diverse. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who joined the name selection," the post reads.

The author of the name should receive a special gift - a chevron from the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition.

"By the way, SeaBaby is 10 days old today. He is actively growing on his mother's milk and may soon start his first acquaintances with the ocean. However, these seals start an independent life and feeding in the water after the end of nursing - approximately 7 weeks after birth. So soon, "sea babies" will be not only in the Black Sea but also in the Southern Ocean," the polar explorers noted.

According to them, near "Vernadsky," apart from SeaBaby, another "Weddell pup" has been born. There are also four pregnant females here. The polar explorers promised to definitely show the new babies in separate posts.

Recently, scientists shared the happy news about the first seal pup born near the station. The National Antarctic Scientific Center published an incredibly cute video where the baby tenderly cuddles with its mother and "communicates" with her.

By the way, the southern aurora was again observed near the "Akademik Vernadsky" station. This is already the second Time this year that Ukrainian polar explorers have been able to record such a rare phenomenon.