Kommetjie in the Western Cape seems to be a prime location for leopard seals to moult – even though its some 6000km from Antartica. It must be the friendly folk there. Earlier this year, in July, another leopard seal spent some time in Kommetjie moulting.
On Friday, August 13 Sea Rescue alerted The Two Oceans Aquarium to a female leopard seal laying on the beach. They rushed to tag her so they could gather more information that could help further research on the species.
In a Facebook post, Two Oceans Aquarium said: “Today another beautiful leopard seal arrived on our shores!This gorgeous girl was safely tagged by the Two Oceans Aquarium with assistance of a few members of our station. If you choose to visit her, please remember to maintain your distance and keep your dogs away. The Shark Spotters team are there to answer any of your questions. Please respect their safe distance protocols for her, your safety and her comfort.Fun fact!Leopard seals live for 25 years on average and can swim at speeds reaching 37 km per hour!”
Interesting facts about leopard seals:
- They are the third largest seal species in the world – only elephant and walrus seals are larger.
- The male is the smaller of the sexes, the female is larger and can weigh up to 590kgs.
- They are streamlined in shape and thanks to this, can move through the water at speeds of up to 40km/ph.
- Leopard seals are loners, they even hunt along and are never seen with more than one or even two fellow seals.
- Their gestation period lasts a long 11 months.
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