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 
SEA LEO PA RI ) . — Lepton yx leopardirius. 
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. 
Yery 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. 
