tiabunna's photos with the keyword: Seals

Copied from an old slide. These seals are reasonably common in the pack ice right around the coast of Antarctica. They largely ignored the ship going by. How times change! Today we think nothing of blazing away with endless digital shots. On the day I took this, I noted in my diary with some surprise that (on the trip to that point) I had "just finished my second roll of 36 exposure Kodachrome!.

From an old slide. At various times through the year, we were visited by Leopard Seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) which normally live in the sea ice around Antarctica. They gave an almost reptilian impression and moved quite slowly with a caterpillar motion on land: in the water they were superbly manoeuvrable. They also were able to open their jaws to an incredible extent, showing most impressive teeth (though sadly this one was not preforming for the camera).