Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)

In leopard seals, females are larger than males, which is more common in aquatic animals than it is in terrestrial animal species. During the breeding period PALAOA detects vocalizations of both male and female leopard seals. Due to the fact that leopard seals are solitary animals, they are thought to use their vocalizations mainly to find a mate during the breeding season. Seven distinct leopard seal vocalizations were recorded. 

Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022.

Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.