Crabeater seals have a typical, serpentine gait when on ice or land, combining retractions of the foreflippers with undulations of the lumbar region. This method of locomotion leaves a distinctive sinuous body track and can be extremely effective. When not subject to overheating (i.e. on cold days), speeds on land of have been recorded for short distances. Satellite tracking data have resulted in conservative estimates of swimming speeds of 66 km/day and 12.7 km/h. While swimming, crabeaters have been known to engage in porpoising (leaping entirely out of the water) and spyhopping (raising the body vertically out of the water for visual inspection) behaviors.