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Leopard Seal
Ludwig Becker's Leopard Seal observations, September 1858
The specimen while alive was able to open its mouth so much that the upper and lower jaw formed an angle of nearly eighty degrees. Palate and tongue pale flesh-color.
The flexibility of the spine was seen while the poor animal was crying either from pain or for food; it could rise the head two feet and a half from the floor while still the sternum was level with the belly, and the head when raised was bent backwards.
At the same time the spine from above the pelvis to the tail moved right to left. The sound was somewhat between a roaring and a grunting noise, not very strong.
- Ludwig Becker
