WATCH: Rare Leopard Seal spotted on Robberg

Date: August 5, 2020 | Posted in News | Plettenberg Bay News | Tourism | Tourist Attractions

An exhausted and very thin Leopard Seal was spotted on Robberg Beach making its way back into the ocean.

This is a very rare sighting as these seals come from the Antarctic. Since they are not known to be sociable animals, the only time these mammals are normally seen is between November and March when the breeding season leads to groups of leopard seals collecting on the sea-ice.

Here are a few interesting facts about this fascinating ocean resident:

The leopard seal is known to be one of the most fearsome predators of the Southern Ocean.

It is the second-largest species of seal – female seals are larger than males and can grow to an incredible 3.5m and weigh up to 455 kg.

The seal’s favourite prey is warm-blooded, such as various species of penguins and other seals, including the smaller crab eater. It’s been known to cut off penguins’ routes back towards the shore and engage in a game of “cat and mouse” as it chases its prey. Perhaps this is a way for younger animals to sharpen their hunting skills.

The leopard seal enjoys “singing” beneath the waters. Hanging upside down and rocking from side to side, adult males have distinctive, stylized calls which they reproduce in unique sequences and which are believed to form part of their breeding behaviour.

There have only been a few serious interactions between leopard seals and humans. In 2003, a biologist with the British Antarctic Survey was tragically dragged 61m underwater to her death by a Leopard Seal.

However, in 2006, photographer Paul Nicklen for National Geographic was documenting leopard seals in the Antarctic. As he, scuba dived around the animals, he ended up being “nurtured” by a female. She offered him live and dead penguins, which Nicklen believed was the leopard seal’s attempt to help him learn to hunt, as she possibly viewed him as a “useless predator”.