A review of leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) births and pups using a standardised age-class classification system

A comprehensive review challenges the long-held belief that leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) exclusively give birth on Antarctic pack ice, revealing that 84.2% of documented births and 57.4% of pup records occur outside Antarctica. Analyzing 19 birth/newborn and 141 pup records from global sources, researchers applied a standardized age-class classification system to assess reproductive patterns by month, region, substrate, and biological attributes. Findings indicate peak birth activity between September and December, with the sub-Antarctic Islands and Chile as primary regions for births, while pups were predominantly recorded in the sub-Antarctic Islands and Antarctica. This study underscores the significance of northern regions within the leopard seal's range, advocating for expanded research and management efforts to include these areas.

van der Linde, K., Visser, I. N., Bout, R., Krause, D. J., Forcada, J., Siniff, D., Stone, S., Fyfe, J., Fernández-Ferrada, N., Macallan, K., Savenko, O., & Cooper, T. E. (2022). A review of leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) births and pups using a standardised age-class classification system. Polar Biology, 45(7), 1193–1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03053-0