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Story: Seals

Leopard seal

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Leopard seal

Leopard seals breed all around Antarctica on pack ice, but come close to land as the ice contracts in summer. They feed on a varied diet of krill, fish, squid, penguins and young seals. Young leopard seals often move north especially during winter, and are seen from time to time on New Zealand beaches, such as this one on a Banks Peninsula beach.

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How to cite this page

Lloyd Spencer Davis, Seals – Leopard seal, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6193/leopard-seal (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Lloyd Spencer Davis, published 2 March 2009.