Close Encounters of the Natural Kind: Part II

Well, it's no secret to those of you who know me: I like animals larger than microbes.  Nothing against bacteria, of course, but marine mammals stole my heart long ago and I've never looked back.  Those of you who don't know me will soon learn that I have a special fascination with seals and sea lions, perhaps because of their semi-terrestrial lifestyle.  Pinnipeds are distributed throughout the world and are oftentimes the lions and bears of their coastal environments.  This is particularly true for one Antarctic resident, aptly named the leopard seal, or the "grizzly of the Antarctic."  This solitary spotted seal is the most deadly animal in the Southern Ocean and at the top of the food chain.  They have an unusually lose jaw that enables them to attack and swallow larger prey animals such as penguins and even other seal pups.  Right about now, you're thinking, Oh no!  But let's face it, everyone's gotta eat.  An interesting fact about leopard seals is that the females grow to be significantly larger than the males! 
      Conveniently, one such individual came floating by our inlet on an iceberg the other afternoon, half asleep and smiling.  Now I'm one who believes that all marine mammals are beautiful, but leopard seals might be an ugly ducking of the mammalian class.  Less endearing than the wide-eyed elephant seals, leopard seals have a head and  elongated snout that resembles a cross between a dinosaur and snake.  Maybe I'm being harsh, but I only say these things to capture the intense power you can see in it's body and neck every time it moves.  I might add that it only moved to yawn and stretch -- what a life.  This individual did not seem like the most ferocious animal around, but by the looks of those pearly whites, I believe it.  
 

    Crabeater seals are also common in the Southern Ocean but are far less menacing.  Crabeater seals, despite their name, do not eat crabs but instead feed almost solely on krill!  Their jagged teeth somehow let krill in while keeping the mouth closed.  Crabeater seals are generally silvery grey and become lighter with age and after they molt in the summer.  According to Wikipedia, they are the most abundant pinniped on the planet and can swim up to 15 mph!  Well, the two that visited our inlet after the leopard seal passed through did not seem too keen on swimming anywhere fast.  Simply resting, sleeping, yawning, sleeping.  Their bodies had melted grooves in the iceberg as a testament to their laziness.  Nonetheless, it was wonderful to watch them flop around for a while before they disturbed each other enough to get back into the water.   

     Lastly, we have our elephant seals.  These huge, blubbery animals are, without exception, the largest pinniped on earth.  Males are much larger than females and can be 15 feet long, weighing up to four and a half tons.  Elephant seals hunt fish and squid, diving down many hundreds of meters for up to two hours in search of food.  You might think that they would get really cold and run out of air down there, but they have special adaptations that allow them to use less oxygen.  As they go deeper and deeper, their heart rate slows down and their blood vessels constrict so that blood only flows to the nervous system and sensory organs.  
      Here at Palmer Station, they all hang out at Elephant Seal Rocks, just making odd gurgling and growling noises that echo across the harbor in the late afternoon.  From the hilltop on Torgie, you can often see intermittent splashing from the half-hearted dominance rituals enacted by young males just waiting to grow big and strong.  Male elephant seals fight for space and females by making loud noises and coming up out of the water to bump chests, not unlike other mammals I've seen portrayed on television.  Some think that elephant seals lack intelligence based on their appearance, but who are we to judge their dashing good looks?  All I can say is that they are a whole lotta animal. 

Warning: sensitive stomachs need not read further.... One thing I almost forgot to mention about the birds.  If you ever find yourself close to a penguin, you must remember one very important thing.  That is, you are within range of projectile feces -- back away slowly.  The bursts come without the slightest warning and leave you only with the hilarity of that spontaneous squirting sound, if you're lucky, that is.  This seems fitting, as close encoungers are only for the adventurous at heart.