Photographs by Norbert Wu
|
More leopard seals: leopard seals can have the playful demeanor of a very large Labrador retriever. However, I always remembered the stories of their predatory behavior in my encounters with them. Leopard seals regularly attack and kill other seals, including large Weddell seals, and almost every crabeater seals bears scars from attacks. We had several leopard seals approach our inflatable Zodiac vessel. They seem particularly drawn to the inflatable pontoons of such a boat, constantly biting the pontoons. When a large one approaches, it can create a sizeable wake behind it. These are the apex predators on this part of the world, with only orcas above them. A leopard seal attacked and killed a researcher at a British sub-antarctic research station, who had been snorkeling. She died from drowning, and her depth gauge showed that the leopard seal dragged her down to 240 feet. |
