by: Dagmar Fertl
The leopard seal probably got its name because of its spotted coat or pelage. The word hydrurga means "water worker" and leptonyx comes from the Greek leptos which means "small" or "slender" and onux for "claw".
Leopard seals have long, slender bodies and massive heads and jaws giving the animal an enormous gape. The shape of the head makes this species almost appear reptilian. The canine teeth are very long and sharply pointed.
This seal species usually reaches three meters in length weighing between 270-450 kg with females being slightly longer and heavier.
Extralimital sighting of this seal include at Cape Horn off South Africa, but this species is typically found on ice floes in polar and subpolar waters of the Southern Hemisphere.
Leopard seals tend to be loners. They are probably best known for their habit of preying upon penguins often lunging out of the water to attack penguins standing at the edge of ice floes. However, they also feed on krill, fish, squid, young seals, and occasionally scavenge on whale carcasses. Many of the leopard seals calls are low-frequency.
These seals were taken in small numbers during sealing in the mid 1980's for research.
Insufficiently known.
Jefferson, T.A. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber. 1994. FAO Species Identification Guide, Marine Mammals of the World. FAO of the United Nations, Rome.
Leatherwood, S., R.R. Reeves, and B.S. Stewart. 1992. The Sierra Club Handbook of Seals and Sirenians. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA. 359 pp.
Rogers T L. Cato D H. Bryden M M. Behavioral significance of underwater vocalizations of captive leopard seals, Hydrurga leptonyx. Marine Mammal Science 12(3). 1996. 414-427.
URL for this page: http://csiwhalesalive.org/csileopardseal.html