ANTARCTICA 64°49’05”S 63°29’00”W
she moves through the dark green water , with long simultaneous strokes, gliding through it soundlessly. Her body is flawless. She likes to sing – to be vocal – but now, it’s not the time for singing. Perfectly adapted to the ocean and the cold, she is hunting, patiently close to the ice edge, waiting for her prey. She likes to be alone. She wants to hunt alone. The world she lives in, the ocean, covers 70% of the surface of this planet. The water is cold, and the sun is low on the horizon. In winter, this place lies in constant darkness, with the sun not returning until August. But she never freezes because she has a layer of fat, also known as blubber. No one else can get close to her here. She has no enemies... other than the orca. It’s not just her home; 50-80% of all life on Earth calls this habitat their home. But she likes to be alone and glides through the rich, green water filled with living organisms that are almost invisible, with her body weight of 500 kg and a body almost four meters long. The ocean is everything but boring, and her reptile-shaped head is ready, always ready to catch the prey. When you see her, you know you have entered another world. She feels the ocean’s vibrations, the iceberg moving, and she knows what that means. Her whiskers help her see; even when visibility is really poor, she can sense and detect disturbances in the water. Trusting her senses, she can be the perfect hunter without perfect eyesight. She can open her powerful jaw really wide, up to 160 degrees, in seconds and close it just as fast. She shoots up and grabs the penguin who entered the water – a chick just starting to swim. She snatches him in an instant and feels the warm body in her mouth – just to let it go again. Before life even starts for him, she will end it. It’s a game; the hunt has just started. The water sounds loud now. The fast move- ment has created waves, and in a second, the ocean has become wild. The waves carry the fleeing penguin towards the ice edge. You can feel the panic emanating from his body, but before he reaches the safe ground, she shoots out from the depths underneath him. She can reach a speed of 40 km per hour if she needs to. Her grip around the penguin’s neck is tight now. She breaks it and lets his body float. The water around her starts to calm down, and she looks at the penguin surrounded by blood. There is no movement. She has eaten earlier, so this hunt was a game. One that she wants to continue, so she slows down and just floats close to the ice again to detect something new to catch. She uses the icy ocean as her fridge for a couple more penguin chicks… Nature is wild. It can be brutal, but don’t you dare judge her. She follows her instinct – her nature. She is the leopard seal.
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MOTHER VOLUME ONE
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