THE SEA LEOPARD. 



401 



account of this structure, and partly because the Seals pass so much of their time below the 

 surface of the water, it has been supposed, that the sense of hearing will be little needed by 

 them, and that it is not at all acute. 



Yet, any one who has been accustomed to diving must have discovered that when the 

 body is entirely submerged in the water, the auditory organs are very sensitive to sounds 

 which are conveyed through the water, although not to those which are produced on land and 

 are only transmitted through the upper atmosphere. For example, although when a man is 

 entirely submerged he is unable to hear the loudest shouts that can be raised by persons on 

 shore, his ears are almost painfully sensitive to any sound that is produced in the water and 



bEA LEOPAKD.- Lep/cmyj- leopanlinus. 



is transmitted through its mediumship. A stone thrown into the water, or a blow struck 

 upon its surface, is heard with perfect distinctness, while the measured stroke of oars and 

 their peculiar grinding roll in the rowlocks become perceptible to his ears long before the 

 sound is audible to those who are on land. 



We must be extremely cautious in offering any conjectures on the supposed efficiency or 

 dullness of certain organs because we fancy that if we were placed under the same conditions 

 our own organs would serve or fail us. In many cases these conjectural assertions, among 

 which we may reckon many of Buff on' s brilliant disquisitions, are found to be in direct con- 

 tradiction to the real facts, and in all instances it is necessary to be exceedingly cautious lest 

 we should overlook some circumstance which may entirely alter the whole aspect of affairs. 



Very little is known of the habits of the Sea Leopard, which are probably much the same 

 as those of the common Seal, as Captain Weddell, who first noticed this species, speaks of it 

 casually as a well-known animal, merely mentioning that his men caught so many Leopard 

 Seals, or that they secured so many Seal skins and so many Leopard Seal skins in the course 

 of their hunt. 



