Southern Ocean

A belt of icy waters encircling Antarctica, home to penguins, seals and polar whales.

• 🪸High seas / open water
• 🪸Sea Ice
• 🌑Epipelagic zone
• 🌑Mesopelagic zone

Harmless

Blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus

Blue whale

The largest animal ever to have existed on Earth, the blue whale makes the ocean tremble with the sound of its own heartbeat, audible from over two miles away.

🌊 0–200 m

• ⚡ The largest animal ever recorded on Earth — heavier than any known dinosaur
• ⚡ Its heartbeat can be detected from over 3 km away underwater

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Moderate danger

Leopard seal

Hydrurga leptonyx

Leopard seal

Antarctica's top predator after the orca, recognisable by its reptilian head and immense jaw, able to hunt both penguins and other seals.

🌊 0–300 m

• ⚡ Can both filter krill and hunt large prey such as a penguin or a young seal
• ⚡ One of the few seals known to actively prey on other seals

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