Welcome back to scary animal attacks!
When most of us think of apex predators, we think of a swift, athletic animal that will
run you down with blinding speed.
Or, we think of giant paws tipped with razor sharp claws perfectly suited to cut you to
pieces, as the beast slurps your flesh and blood.
What would you think if I told you that today’s animal attack features an animal that you
can easily outrun and can’t swat you with its claws at all?
Today’s episode takes us to the Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The area is a solid ice sheet resting over a huge rock shelf and features such attractive
traits as sub-freezing temperatures nearly year round as well as a featureless snowscape
that is nearly impossible to navigate without special equipment.
Kirsty Brown was a 28 year old marine biologist who was helping out with the British Antarctic
Survey on July 22nd, 2003.
She was a trained and educated geologist and oceanographer and had worked as a researcher
as well as a diver in projects in Greenland and Australia.
She was very smart!
While stationed at Rothera, Kirsty was researching the effects of iceberg disturbances on plant
and animal communities along the Antarctic seabed.
She had been on this project for nearly a year and was just finishing up her initial
phase which involved placing several hundred markers to measure iceberg gouging on the
seabed.
Her coworkers enjoyed her enthusiasm and energy.
Kirsty provided a great work ethic and dealt with the mundane aspects of scientific research
with a smile and a laugh.
Workers at this station are only allowed ingress or egress seasonally as it is too cold and
unpredictable to fly in or out, and the seas are frozen much of the year.
The procedures and rules of the research team help keep them safe.
As diving into the frigid depths is part of the research, the general rule is that nobody
dives if a Leopard Seal is spotted in the area.
Now, leopard seals are not known to be directly aggressive toward people but it is better
to be safe than sorry when the animal you might have a problem with can weigh over 1,000
pounds and can stretch over 12 feet long.
This policy had ensured the scientists safety, as well as the leopard seals for 30 years
so far, and seemed very reliable.
Leopard seals are sort of like the polar bear of the antarctic.
They are single hunters of the waters that target penguins of all types, crabeater and
fur seals, as well as small or vulnerable Wedell, Ross and Southern Elephant seals.
As an added supplement to their diets, their rear teeth are serrated allowing them to be
used like a filter to sift krill from the seawater.
Leopard seals are known for sinking their massive canine teeth into a penguin and thrashing
back and forth until the bird's skin and feathers are torn loose so they can be devoured easily.
Researching leopard seals has been likened to researching any other large predator that
operates in solitude.
Being spread out and alone is the key to their success so any interruption to their norm
and they simply move out of the research area.
Kirsty had just a bit more research to do the day in question.
She was snorkeling approximately 25 yards from shore with a research colleague of hers.
The divers had followed safety protocol and made sure there were no leopard seals in the
area, before starting their research.
Somehow, a solitary leopard seal had slipped their sight and was lurking near their research
locale.
As Kirsty was getting ready to dive again, her partner noticed a dark shape speeding
toward them from a nearby rock shelf.
It was very large and traveled very fast through the water.
Kirsty was not too concerned as seals were a frequent visitor on the research site.
But, there was something different about this seal.
It seemed to be curious and much larger than a normal seal.
Kirsty and her research partner discerned it to be a large leopard seal.
These animals are known to be somewhat aggressive with people and will approach without out
of curiosity, or perhaps competition.
The seal circled Kirsty at first and then bit into her lower leg.
Kirsty screamed in pain and began to kick and fight to get away.
Her screams alerted the other dive team on the shore and they immediately began to prep
their boat to help.
The seal’s sharp teeth were then driven into her leg again and Kirsty was pulled under
water.
As she was pulled deeper and deeper, the seal would release Kirsty and she would start to
float toward the surface, only to have the seal clamp its huge canines into her again
and pull her even further down.
This process happened over and over at least twenty times.
Each time the seal would sink its teeth into Kirsty’s flesh it would open up gashes and
tears in her flesh causing searing pain and horror as she kicked against this assault
on her survival.
The leopard seal was attacking over and over again, preventing Kirsty from swimming toward
the surface and breathing.
It continually pulled her lower until they reached a depth of around 70 meters or 230
feet.
It seemed to have a maniacal tormenting look on its face as it tortured her.
Maybe, it was unaware of the pain and suffering it was inflicting, but maybe it was fully
aware.
The rescue team took about ten minutes to arrive at the attack scene, find Kirsty’s
body and pull it from the icy waters.
The rescue team pulled her aboard and sped their way Dr. Brown back at the research station.
The medics worked on resuscitating Kirsty for around an hour before they finally acknowledged
their beloved coworker had died.
She had suffered 45 separate lacerations amongst numerous other bruises and bumps during the
attack.
The leopard seal held her underwater for approximately 6 minutes before releasing her to be recovered
and did not consume any portion of her body.
The coroner ruled that Kirsty died from accidental drowning.
Though Leopard Seals have not been involved in any other fatalities, they have been involved
in a few other attacks on humans.
The 3 scenarios that researchers consider factors in these attacks are confusion for
prey, territorial defense or surprise and the final possibility is a predatory attack.
Contact between leopard seals and humans are increasing as humans study and travel to the
Antarctic more frequently.