I am hooked on a leopard seal.
A week ago I went to Tooronga Park Zoo, specifically to revisit him. A zookeeper I got talking to said the leopard seal was his favourite animal too.
What is it about him that attracts us?
Do we find some pleasure in fearing him?
I love his sleek motion and strength.
Like the Antarctic landscape from which he comes, he is indifferent to human kind. He makes me re-think myself and my purpose, and the idea of life without humanity.
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Bill Burch describes the leopard seal with awe, in his Journal (Entry #8).
Geoffrey Williams describes trying to lasso a leopard seal in the spirit of a ‘boy’s own’ adventure.
Both men write with a sense of excitement at connecting with these creatures.
Is this a kind of pleasure?