Leopard Seal

In July 2003 a scientist was killed by a leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) while snorkelling at a research station on the Antarctic peninsula. A fellow scientist warned that these huge-headed, reptilian-looking killers were sizing up people as prey. Leopard seals, which grow to 400kg and can swim at 40kph, will eat anything from krill, which they filter from the water through their teeth, to juvenile elephant seals. The scientist's was the first recorded death but there have been other non-fatal attacks and some research scientists now fit special protective guards to their inflatable boats to prevent punctures caused by leopard seals.