Leopard Seal - Behaviour

Behaviour

The leopard seal lives in the cold waters surrounding Antarctica. During the summer months, it hunts among the pack ice surrounding the continent, spending almost all of its time in the water. In the winter, it ranges north to the sub-Antarctic islands. Occasionally, individuals may be spotted on the southern coasts of Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand, and as far north as the Cook Islands. Juveniles are more often found in the north.

The leopard seal is a solitary creature and comes together in small groups only when it is time to mate. During the mating season, males and females make acoustic calls to each other over distances, with at least the males having individual variability in their vocalising sequence patterns. After a 9-month gestation, the female digs a hole in the ice, and gives birth to a single pup during the Antarctic summer. She protects the pup until it is able to fend for itself.

Leopard seals are not very vocal, although they occasionally make some grunting and growling noises.

The leopard seal is bold, powerful and curious. In the water, there is a fine line between curiosity and predatory behaviour, and it may 'play' with penguins it does not intend to eat. There are also records of leopard seals attacking divers. Paul Nicklen, a National Geographic magazine photographer, captured pictures of a leopard seal bringing live, injured, and then dead penquins to him, possibly in an attempt to teach the photographer how to hunt.