Amazing Penguin vs Hungry Leopard Seal Pursuit Caught on Film – See for Yourself!

This leopard seal secures itself a meal…and then decides to pass. In this extraordinary clip, we see a penguin relentlessly pursued through the icy water by a leopard seal and escape by leaping onto a rock. But it has no choice but to re-enter the water in search of food.

Once again, it is chased by the seal and this time it leaps onto some floating ice. The problem is, so does the seal! After screeching at each other for a few seconds, the seal retreats into the water.

We wonder what the penguin said to make it change its mind!

Watch the Heart-Stopping Clip Below

Where Do Leopard Seals Live?

Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) live exclusively in the waters around Antarctica where they can be found throughout the year. Having said that, they have been spotted in waters off South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

They often move around their ecosystem following ice floes and prey. They are the second largest seal in the Antarctic coastal ecosystems. These seals live a solitary life apart from mothers living with their pups.

Is It Normal Behavior for Leopard Seals to Eat Penguins?

Leopard seals are large, fast, and powerful predators who have a lot of very sharp teeth. They will eat just about anything in their habitats ranging from krill to penguins and other seals (usually pups). However, their diet is also made up of fish, squid, birds, and shellfish.

Their hunting method is to hang out near penguins and seal colonies and wait until individuals enter the water. Then, they sneak up on their prey and snatch it from behind. The next step is to drag the carcass further offshore where they devour it. However, they have also been seen hiding larger carcasses so that they can come back to them when they are hungrier.

Because krill are so small, they are quite hard for the seal to grab hold of. Therefore, their molars act as filters, capturing the krill as the seal swims through the water. This is a lot less effort than battling a penguin on an ice floe!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Yvonne Schonewille/Shutterstock.com