The male seals produce loud calls (153 to 177 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m) for many hours each day. Leopard seals are very vocal underwater during the austral summer. Behavior Ī leopard seal displaying its teeth. The trait of vocalizing underwater for long periods means they can be the subject of acoustic surveys, allowing researchers to gather most of what is known about them. Although there is an abundance of leopard seals in the Antarctic, they are difficult to survey by traditional visual techniques because they spend long periods of time vocalizing under the water during the austral spring and summer, when visual surveys are carried out. The estimated population of this species ranges from 220,000 to 440,000 individuals, putting leopard seals at "least concern". Lone male leopard seals hunt other marine mammals and penguins in the pack ice of antarctic waters. Some researchers believe this is due to safety concerns for the pups. While solitary animals may appear in areas of lower latitudes, females rarely breed there. These matrilineal groups can move further north in the austral winter to sub-antarctic islands and the coastlines of the southern continents to provide care for their pups.
Most leopard seals remain within the pack ice throughout the year and remain solitary during most of their lives with the exception of a mother and her newborn pup. Higher densities of leopard seals are seen in the Western Antarctic than in other regions.
In August 2018, an individual was sighted at Geraldton, on the west coast of Australia. Sightings of vagrant leopard seals have been recorded on the coasts of Australia, New Zealand (where individuals have been seen even on the foreshores of major cities such as Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington ), South America, and South Africa. Leopard seals are pagophilic ("ice-loving") seals, which primarily inhabit the Antarctic pack ice between 50˚S and 80˚S. Their hearing in air is similar to that of a human, but scientists have noted that leopard seals use their ears in conjunction with their whiskers to track prey under water. The whiskers are short and clear.Īs "true" seals, they do not have external ears or pinnae, but possess an internal ear canal that leads to an external opening. The overall length of adults is 2.4–3.5 m (7.9–11.5 ft) and weight is from 200 to 600 kilograms (440 to 1,320 lb) making them the same length as the northern walrus but usually less than half the weight. The coat is counter-shaded with a silver to dark gray blend and a distinctive spotted " leopard" coloration pattern dorsally and a paler, white to light gray color ventrally. The front teeth are sharp like those of other carnivores, but their molars lock together in a way that allows them to sieve krill from the water in the manner of the crabeater seal. The leopard seal has a distinctively long and muscular body shape when compared to other seals, but it is perhaps best known for its massive jaws, which allow it to be one of the top predators in its environment.
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