Leopard Seals Granted NZ Residency

courtesy: NZ Conservation Dept.

Leopard seals, Hydrurga leptonyx, are formidable predators.  In fact a leopard seal is credited for taking a British woman, part of an Antarctic research team. But that grizzly occurrence did not stop New Zealand giving leopard seals legal status as  residents, no longer classed as "vagrants". The seal lives primarily in Antarctic waters, but it is found as far north as New Zealand in every region of the island nation.  Leopard seals are protected under New Zealand's Marine Mammal Protection Act; anyone caught harming them can be fined $250,000 or spend two years in prison.

The animals are usually placid when found resting on a beach after feeding. Nevertheless, a leopard seal was found shot in the head last year. A member of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition was chased on the ice by a leopard seal and only escaped after a colleague shot the animal dead. They are large, weighing up to 600 kgs and have serious teeth befitting their carnivorous role second only to killer whales in the southern ocean. They are the only seals known to regularly hunt and kill warm-blooded prey, including other seals.

The promotion to resident status was welcomed by conservationists.  The change could be credited to a female seal, Owha, that made Waitemata Harbor her territory. Her presence along the south island coast for seven years prompted investigation into the numbers of leopard seals living in New Zealand waters.  Previously thought to be outside their home range, New Zealand has an increasing number of leopard seals staying there. However, the archeological record shows that leopard seals were known to the Maori who occupied New Zealand around 1300. Three leopard seal births on the mainland have been documented in the past.