DOMESTIC LIFE 



reappeared several times at the surface, but drifted 

 away with the tide and we lost it. 



The sea-leopard has not a reputation for attacking 

 men in boats, and this one may have been actuated 

 by curiosity merely, but in favour of its meaning to 

 attack us were, first, that it came to us straight 

 from the direction of the dead bull we had shot, 

 and secondly, that it seems hardly likely that after 

 bumping against our keel, mere curiosity could 

 have tempted it to come back and try to look over 

 the gunwale ! As a rule we had to drift very 

 quietly along when hunting sea-leopards, as the 

 slightest sound frightened them away. 



All that we could do to protect our friends was 

 to shoot as many of these sea-leopards as possible 

 but though we may have made some difference, 

 there were always many about. 



Some idea of the depredations committed by 

 these animals may be gathered from the fact that 

 in the stomach of one which we shot I found the 

 bodies of eighteen penguins, in various stages of 

 digestion, the beast's intestines being literally 

 stuffed with the feathers remaining from the dis- 

 integration of many more. Photographs of these 

 animals are seen in Figs. 52, 53, and 54. 



Though the actual presence of a sea-leopard 



87 



