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Leopard Seals
NOVEMBER 2006
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Playful Hunters
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
A young leopard seal plays with its food, a gentoo penguin. The 1,000-pound (450 kilograms) creatures "are not empathetic," says photographer Paul Nicklen, who spent three weeks swimming with the seals. "Killing seems as much about fun and games as it does about eating." Nicklen observed leopard seals prolonging their prey's death for over an hour by shaking the animal, dropping it, and snapping it back up again. Sometimes the penguin would die not from its wounds, but rather from the shock or stress of the chase.
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Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Format: Digital
Lens: 200mm
Speed and F-Stop: 1/1500 @ f/6.7
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Weather Conditions: Sunset, a few clouds
Time of Day: Evening
Lighting Techniques: Available light
Special Equipment: Image stabilizer
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