The leopard seal is a large, powerful predator of the Southern Ocean, found mainly around the pack ice of Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands, named for the dark spotted pattern across its silvery-grey coat that recalls the big cat. It has an elongated, reptilian-looking head and powerful jaws lined with sharp teeth, and unlike most seals it is an active apex predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including krill, fish, squid, penguins and the pups of other seal species, which it can pursue and dispatch with considerable speed and aggression in the water. Leopard seals are largely solitary, spending most of their time hunting alone along ice edges, and adult females are notably larger than males. They are among the very few marine mammals known to have occasionally attacked humans, though such encounters remain extremely rare. Population trends are not well documented across its remote range, but the species is not currently considered threatened.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or ExtinctDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status. Scientific Name Conservation Status Population EstimateThe article gives two figures: a broader range of 220,000 to 440,000 individuals in the Distribution section, and a much lower 2012 survey figure of 35,000 that the IUCN itself flags as likely a substantial underestimate. The lower bound of the broader range is recorded here as the more conservative published figure; neither is a settled consensus number. Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceIts fur coat is countershaded, being silver on the bottom and dark gray on the top, and is distinctive for its leopard-like pattern of dark spots. 1 Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
In Ecosystem
Source World Wildlife Fund
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Leopard Seal (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, sentence 1
The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), also referred to as the sea leopard, is a long and muscular seal native to the Southern Ocean of Antarctica and southern Patagonia.
Conservation section
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the leopard seal as Least Concern.
Distribution section
The estimated population of this species ranges from 220,000 to 440,000 individuals.
Description section
Its fur coat is countershaded, being silver on the bottom and dark gray on the top, and is distinctive for its leopard-like pattern of dark spots.
- In Biome: Marine, Wikipedia 'Leopard seal': native to the Southern Ocean of Antarctica and southern Patagonia
View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Leopard seal
System/realm (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), also referred to as the sea leopard, is a long and muscular seal native to the Southern Ocean of Antarctica and southern Patagonia.
system (entity description states it plainly, diet)
It has an elongated, reptilian-looking head and powerful jaws lined with sharp teeth, and unlike most seals it is an active apex predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including krill, fish, squid, penguins and the pups of other seal species, which it can pursue and dispatch with considerable speed and aggression in the water.
View the Source3. SeaLifeBase: Hydrurga leptonyx summary
4. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Hydrurga leptonyx (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITESQuote, Conservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
Wikidata: Leopard Seal
Wikidata Q186663, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PhocidaeView the Source World Wildlife Fund
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