Q 01/05

In what position does a male leopard seal hang underwater while it sings for hours each day?

A) Upside down

B) Lying on its side

C) Upright, nose up

D) Curled in a ball

Answer · why

A) Upside down

Upside down is how a male leopard seal sings, rocking from side to side with its chest puffed out and pulsing with every call.

Q 02/05

A leopard seal captured near Sydney was found to have eaten which fully grown Australian mammal?

A) Wombat

B) Platypus

C) Bandicoot

D) Echidna

Answer · why

B) Platypus

Platypus was the surprise on the menu, proof that a leopard seal will eat almost anything it meets, from squid and fish to penguins.

Q 03/05

A leopard seal grows about as long as which Arctic animal, yet usually weighs less than half as much?

A) Narwhal

B) Polar bear

C) Walrus

D) Harp seal

Answer · why

C) Walrus

Walrus is the comparison: an adult leopard seal matches its length at 2.4 to 3.5 metres but is built lean and muscular for chasing fast prey.

Q 04/05

Which animal is the only natural predator of the leopard seal in its Antarctic home?

A) Polar bear

B) Killer whale

C) Great white shark

D) Sperm whale

Answer · why

B) Killer whale

Killer whale pods are the one thing a leopard seal has to fear. Otherwise it sits at the very top of the food chain as an apex predator.

Q 05/05

A female leopard seal spent four days bringing penguins to Paul Nicklen, a photographer for which magazine?

A) BBC Wildlife Magazine

B) National Geographic

C) Smithsonian Magazine

D) Scientific American

Answer · why

B) National Geographic

National Geographic ran his photos of the encounter: she offered him live, then injured, then dead penguins, apparently trying to feed him.