Wild and Kind Kids Podcast

The Leopard Seal

• Wild and Kind Kids

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0:00 | 20:15

In the icy waters of Antarctica, it’s not easy being Jeremy the leopard seal. In fact, it’s downright lonely.

With his long, sleek body, lightning-fast swimming, and a mouth full of sharp teeth, Jeremy is one of the ocean’s fiercest predators. But today, he has a special mission: to make a friend.

Unfortunately, everywhere he goes, animals scatter in fear. It seems no one can look past his teeth to see the lonely creature behind them … until one small, unexpected friend sees something different.

Join Carie, Lincoln, and Eliza as they explore the fast, fierce, and fascinating world of one of Antarctica’s top predators: the leopard seal.

Kids will discover:

  • What it means to be an apex predator
  • How leopard seals are built for speed and surprise
  • Why blubber is important for animals in icy environments
  • How curiosity shows up in the animal world

Keep exploring:

Learn along with us and explore some of the resources we consulted:

Quick note: An earlier version of this episode had the wrong seal (oops!) in the image. The artwork has now been updated but may take 24 hours to show in your feed. We've got the right one on our Instagram account. 🦭


SPEAKER_00

Welcome back, friends. So before we literally dive in today, let's get moving. Okay, Lincoln and Eliza, we are gonna play a game called Lurk and Leap. When I say lurk, I want you to freeze in place. That means no moving, no talking. Perfectly still. Then when I say leap, I want you to jump into the air. Now if you're in a car seat or you're sitting down, you can just reach your hands into the air as high as you can. Okay, you all ready? Leap! Lurk. Stay still.

unknown

Don't move. Don't move a muscle.

SPEAKER_00

Leap! Now, lurk. Hold it. I want you to be perfectly still.

SPEAKER_02

Keep holding it. Keep holding it.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, we'll stop. Hopefully, friends, if you're listening, you had a little easier time of staying perfectly still. Because today's animal relies on staying just as still as a statue and then leaping into action to catch its prey. Let's get learning. I'm Carrie, and I grew up on a zoo.

SPEAKER_01

I'm Lincoln. I'm Eliza. And we're the wild about animals.

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Wild and Kind Kids Podcast. Well, hello, Lincoln and Eliza. Hi, Mom. Are you all ready for another listener request?

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, this one comes from David in Drippin' Springs, Texas.

SPEAKER_02

Hi, David!

SPEAKER_00

So David is in third grade and wild about leopard seals.

SPEAKER_02

Good one, David. The leopards of the sea.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, leopard seals are crazy cool, y'all. You'll find these ocean mammals swimming, darting, and lounging on ice flows all around the waters of Antarctica. Leopard seals are among the world's biggest seals. Males can be about 10 feet long. Think about the distance from the ground to the rim of a basketball goal. And females can top 12 feet. Now we're approaching the top of the backboard, and they can weigh over 1,000 pounds. So, y'all, that makes them bigger than a grizzly bear. To picture one in your mind, its body is long and sleek, almost like a torpedo or a rocket made for slicing through the icy water. Its head is smooth and round with no outside ears sticking out. It has strong front flippers on the sides of its body that help it steer and swoop through the sea. And at the very end, their big sleek body tapers down into two small flippers, almost like little feet pointing out behind them. Their skin is usually a silver gray or a dark gray, with even darker spots splashed across it. Kind of like a leopard spots, which is exactly how they got their name. But here's the wild part. Leopard seals often look like they are smiling. They have these big eyes, and their mouths are long and wide, and the corners curve upward in a way that almost makes them look friendly. But do not let that smile fool you. Right, because leopard seals are not the cuttlebug kind of seals. They are some of Antarctica's fiercest hunters. Lincoln and Eliza, tell me more.

SPEAKER_02

They're at the top of the food chain.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Leopard seals are what we call apex predators. That means they are one of the top hunters in their ecosystem. They hunt lots of different animals, and very few animals hunt them. Leopard seals eat all kinds of sea creatures, from tiny krill that they can strain from the water with special teeth, to fish, squid, other seals, and even penguins. Their only natural predator is the orca. Alright, y'all, give me another fact.

SPEAKER_02

They sink underwater.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. This is one of the wildest things about leopard seals. Scientists have observed leopard seals making these spooky, trilly hooting sounds underwater. Let's take a listen. They've also noticed that each song has a particular pattern that they often repeat, almost like a real song. Scientists think it could be one way that they woo a partner when it's time to have babies. And because leopard seals spend a lot of their grown-up lives alone, those underwater songs may help them connect across the cold, dark sea. So even though leopard seals are fierce hunters, they can also be surprisingly musical. Alright, give me another fact, Lincoln and Eliza.

SPEAKER_02

Leopard seals move like torpedoes in the water.

SPEAKER_00

Indeed. Leopard seals have long, sleek, streamed lined bodies that help them slice through the water. This shape helps them glide, twist, and zoom after prey. They almost move like a snake sometimes. They use their strong front flippers to help steer through the sea, which is one reason they look so fast and powerful. And they have been recorded moving as fast as 25 miles per hour. Okay, maybe one more fact.

SPEAKER_02

They have built-in winter gear. Snow, snow, let it snow.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, leopard seals are built for life in icy Antarctica. Like many ocean animals that live in the cold, they have a thick layer of fat under their skin called blubber. Blubber helps in two big ways. It stores energy and it works like a warm winter coat, helping protect them from the freezing ocean. All right, thanks, Lincoln and Eliza. Now it's time to meet a leopard seal up close in our story of the day. Hey. For today's story, friends, we might need to bundle up. We are traveling all the way to the bottom of the world, to Antarctica. A place of icy wind, freezing seas, and giant chunks of floating ice. That's where Jeremy lives. Jeremy is a leopard seal, one of nature's fiercest hunters. Except, Jeremy isn't feeling so fierce today. He's feeling lonely. Every day, Jeremy slices through the freezing water in search of food and adventure. He hauls himself onto floating ice. He dives down into the deep dark sea. He sometimes stares at the never-ending sky above him. But he does all of it alone. He watches penguins huddle shoulder to shoulder on the ice, cozy in a chattering crowd. He sees orcas swimming side by side through the water, sleek and strong together. He sees seabirds wheeling around in the sky above him. Everywhere Jeremy looks. Someone seems to have someone. The ocean feels so full, but Jeremy feels so alone. But today is not a day for wallowing. Today is a day for action. He hauls himself onto an icy ledge, lifts his chin, and makes a very serious announcement to absolutely no one.

SPEAKER_02

I will make friends today.

SPEAKER_00

Then he peers into a puddle of icy water and inspects his reflection.

SPEAKER_02

Strong face, excellent whiskers, very graceful flippers.

SPEAKER_00

He tilts his head.

SPEAKER_02

And what a warmth smile I have.

SPEAKER_00

He opens his mouth. A whole row of long, pointy, fearsome teeth stares back at him. Jeremy snaps his mouth shut.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, right. I'll smile with my mouth closed.

SPEAKER_00

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremy spots a flash of silver in the water. Holy mackerel! This is his chance. He dives in and watches as a whole school of fish swishes this way and that, turning together like they're all sharing the same fish brain. Jeremy stares. How do they do that? How do they stay together? Could he maybe join? He takes a deep breath and zooms ahead, slipping right into the middle of the group. And for a few glorious seconds, Jeremy is swimming beside them, swooshing through the water, feeling, well, almost like part of a team. Until one mackerel turns, sees Jeremy, and freezes. Her eyes go wide. Leopard seal, she shrieks, swim for your lives. The whole school explodes in every direction. Silver tails flash, fins flick, in one blink, they are gone.

SPEAKER_02

Wait, I wasn't going to eat you. I just wanted some swim buddies.

SPEAKER_00

But the water is already empty. Jeremy floats there alone, blinking at the bubbles.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that could have gone better.

SPEAKER_00

A little while later, Jeremy spots a group of penguins lined up near the edge of an ice block. They are waddling and squawking. Some are sliding on their bellies in a neat little row. Jeremy's eyes light up. A parade! These are clearly friendship animals. Trying to look casual, Jeremy flops onto his belly and wiggles into line behind them. Waddle, waddle, scoot. For one wonderful second, Jeremy feels included. He gives a small happy sniff. A penguin turns around. The penguin blinks. It blinks again.

SPEAKER_02

And then she screams Yapper Seal, water for your life.

SPEAKER_00

Pandemonium. Penguins flip, penguins flop, penguins scatter. One dives into the water, one belly slides straight into another penguin. Two more trip over their own feet.

SPEAKER_02

Wait! I was just trying to join your parade.

SPEAKER_00

But it's too late again. The ice is empty, except one stray feather drifting down onto his nose. Jeremy sighs.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe I need a less alarming entrance.

SPEAKER_00

Perhaps, Jeremy thinks, he's going about this all wrong. The mackerel, we're swimming with mackerel. The penguin, we're sliding with other penguins. He's just been trying to join the wrong crowd. What Jeremy needs, obviously, is a seal. And then he spots one. A crab eater seal flopped across the ice. Jeremy gasps.

SPEAKER_02

A seal! Finally, someone who gets it.

SPEAKER_00

He slips into the water and swims toward the ice with deep determination. This time he decides he will be cool, friendly, relaxed, not too intense. He definitely won't smile. Jeremy pops his head up beside the ice and gives the friendliest closed-mouth smile he can manage.

unknown

Hello.

SPEAKER_00

The crab eater seal cracks open one sleepy eye. Jeremy tries to sound casual.

SPEAKER_02

So, in the mood for some creel?

SPEAKER_00

The crabbeater seal shot upright.

SPEAKER_02

You wanna do what to me?

SPEAKER_00

Before Jeremy could say another word, the crab eater seal lets out a panicked squeak, flings himself off the ice, and disappears into the water with a splash. Jeremy blinks.

SPEAKER_02

No! Crew! The tiny shrimpy things. Not the other thing.

SPEAKER_00

But the crab eater seal was already gone. Jeremy sighed.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, I really need to work on my conversation skills.

SPEAKER_00

It was official. Operation Make a Friend was a terrible disaster. Perhaps Jeremy thought he was really destined to be alone. He pulled himself to the spot that the crab eater seal had just abandoned. He sighed. He stretched out on the ice and then he heard it. A little squeak. Jeremy lifted his head. There, perched on a lump of ice just a few feet away was a small, snowy seabird with big, bright black eyes. It tilted his head at him. Squeak! It said again. Jeremy blinked.

SPEAKER_02

You're still here?

SPEAKER_00

The bird gave a little fluff of its feathers. I saw everything. It chirped. Jeremy groaned and covered his face with one flipper.

SPEAKER_02

Oh no. The fish? The penguins? The krill mix up.

SPEAKER_00

All of it, said the bird. Jeremy peeked out. And you're not scared? The bird hopped a little closer. Well, it said, your teeth are definitely alarming. Jeremy sighed. But the bird said, your smile is pretty nice. Jeremy blinked. It is? It is. I didn't think you were trying to be scary. I thought you were trying to be friendly. Jeremy was quiet for a moment. Then very carefully, he gave his best closed mouth smile. The bird chirped. That one, it said. That one is definitely less terrifying. Jeremy let out a snorty little laugh. I think the other animals just saw your teeth, the bird said. But I saw you trying. Jeremy sat quietly for a moment.

SPEAKER_02

Would you like to hang out for a minute?

SPEAKER_00

The bird fluffed its feather and tucked its feet beneath its belly. I think it said I would. So the little bird sat and Jeremy sat. And together they watched the icy water sparkle and the penguins wobble and the wind swirl over the ice. And for the first time in a very long time, Jeremy did not feel quite so alone. All right, friends. Like always, our story has a real science connection. It is important to say though, a leopard seal out searching for friends, that part is story magic. But the animals' reactions, that is rooted in reality. In real life, leopard seals are powerful predators. They often wait quietly near the edge of ice or in the water below, and then burst into action to surprise their prey. Kind of like our lurk or leap game at the very beginning. Now, if a fish, penguin, or other seals spotted a leopard seal nearby, it would probably get out of there fast. And people should never get close to one in the wild. Leopard seals are strong, unpredictable, and can be very dangerous. But interested in something unusual? Curious? That part might be real. Leopard seals have sometimes been observed investigating unfamiliar things in the water, like humans, boats, or rafts. Some experts even describe them as especially inquisitive, which means they might get close to something to check it out. They are believed to be very intelligent with their own personalities. In one famous story, a leopard seal repeatedly brought penguins to a human diver. Now, we can't know exactly what the seal was thinking, but it does show that leopard seals may sometimes pay very close attention to something new in their world. So, no, leopard seals are probably not swimming across Antarctica hoping to make best friends. But a leopard seal noticing something, coming close, showing curiosity, that part connects to real animal science. Before we go, it's time for your Wild Cognition.

SPEAKER_02

Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

SPEAKER_00

Leopard seals may live far away in Antarctica, but even their ocean home can be affected by trash and pollution that humans make. So this week, I want you to think about the three Rs. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. You can reduce how many disposable things you use. You can reuse something instead of throwing it away, like turning a plastic bottle into a bird feeder. Or with your grown-up's help, you can recycle the items in your house. It may feel like one small action, but when lots of people do small things to help, they add up in big ways. That's exactly right. Thanks everyone. We hope to see you next week. This podcast is produced by John, also known as Lincoln and Eliza's dad. If you're enjoying these adventures, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a review and tell your friends. Check out the show notes to find a coloring sheet for today's creature. And explore more episodes at wildandkindkids.com. To show us your coloring sheet or request an animal for a future story, contact us at wild and kindkidspod at gmail.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Wild and Kind Kids Pod. Thanks for exploring with us, friends. Until next time.

SPEAKER_01

And your curiosity wild.