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An extreme wandering leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, at Pitcairn Island, central South Pacific

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Abstract

Leopard seals are distributed around the Antarctic continent principally between 50°S and 80°S though they are known to wander even farther north, particularly to Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa, and several sub-Antarctic Islands. Seasonal movements of leopard seals have been correlated with seasonal changes in the distribution of sea ice with seals moving north as sea ice develops in spring and winter and southward toward the Antarctic continent as it melts in late autumn and winter. On August 9, 2013, an emaciated juvenile male leopard seal was observed swimming in Bounty Bay at Pitcairn Island (25°4′S, 130°6′W). It was found ashore at a boat ramp in the bay the next day. Because of the seal’s apparent distress, it was promptly shot and killed humanely by an island police officer and then dumped at sea before any measurements or additional observations could be made. We estimated the seal to be a 10-month-old pup, about 1.8–2 m long. The appearance of this leopard seal at Pitcairn Island is only slightly farther south than the most northern record (the Cook Islands, 21°25′S, 159°8′W) for the species, but it is the most remote occurrence yet documented worldwide and correlates with the all-time record for sea ice coverage in the Antarctic in winter 2013.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Meralda Warren, Sharon Donovan, and Kevin Donovan for sharing their observations and photographs with us and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. We dedicate this short note to our friend and colleague Dr. Stephen Leatherwood whose spirit still lives in the many wonderful places on our planet, like the Pitcairn Islands, where he conducted research and promoted marine mammal conservation and continues to inspire us.

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  1. Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, 2595 Ingraham Street, San Diego, CL, 92109, USA

    Brent S. Stewart

  2. ZEGRAHM Expeditions, 166 Peace Road, Tavernier, FL, 33070, USA

    Jack S. Grove

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  1. Brent S. Stewart
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  2. Jack S. Grove
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Correspondence to Brent S. Stewart.

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Stewart, B.S., Grove, J.S. An extreme wandering leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, at Pitcairn Island, central South Pacific. Polar Biol 37, 423–425 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1447-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1447-4

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