
%0 Journal Article
%A Rounsevell, D. 
%A Pemberton, D. 
%T The status and seasonal occurrence of Leopard Seals, Hydrurga leptonyx, in Tasmanian waters.
%J Australian Mammalogy
%D 1994/01/01
%V 17
%N 1
%P 97-102
%K 
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/AM94010
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/AM94010 
%X Seventy nine sightings of Leopard Seals, Hydrurga leptonyx, made over a period of 7 years in Tasmania are reported. They show that the species occurs annually in Tasmanian waters between July and November, probably as a result of northward movement from the Antarctic pack ice zone. Its seasonal occurrence in Tasmanian waters implies that it is a regular member of the marine fauna of the region. This is in contrast to previous reports that the species was a rare vagrant, occasionally stranding along the coastline. Comparisons of the age structure of H. leptonyx in Tasmania with those on subantarctic islands suggests that there is a clinal variation with latitude in the dispersal pattern, as young animals disperse further north than adults. 
