Brooke the Leopard Seal
Taronga Zoo
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After months of training for the big move, Taronga Zoo's much loved Leopard Seal, ‘Brooke' had a seamless transfer from her heritage pool to the new Great Southern Oceans.
Despite such a massive logistical operation for Taronga's staff, the 300 kilogram Leopard Seal was so relaxed with her new surroundings that her dedicated keeper Ady was able to do a training session with her immediately after her arrival, such was the bond and trust developed between the two.
Brooke enjoyed exploring her new pool and the impressive underwater viewing area enabled both visitors and Brooke to view each-other at eye level, something she revelled in whilst demonstrating the amazing power and grace of this unique aquatic predator.
Sadly some months after the move, Brooke passed away after a brief illness, she is sorely missed by the entire Taronga Zoo family, particularly her keeper Ady who described it like losing a member of her own family.
Since Brooke was a rescued adult Leopard Seal it is not known exactly how old she was, however it was thought that she was about 10 years old, achieving a comparable life span to other Leopard Seals cared for by the Zoo.
‘Brooke' arrived at Taronga Zoo in 1999 after being found on Garie Beach in the Royal National Park, upon arrival she was drastically underweight, dehydrated and suffering from Shark attack injuries. Through intensive care, Zoo veterinarians and keepers saved her life by nursing her back to full health.
During her time at Taronga she had been a great ambassador for her species and played a major role in helping the Australian Mammals Research Centre learn more about this solitary Antarctic animal. Brooke participated in ground-breaking research to determine if Leopard Seals use echolocation or make sounds inaudible to the human ear to navigate and detect objects located in their environment.
Although no animal will ever fill the void left by Brooke, the Leopard Seal pools at Taronga Zoo are now home to ‘Casey' and ‘Sabine' a young male and female which have also been nursed back to full health after washing a shore separately suffering from various illnesses. The two seals will remain at Taronga Zoo under an Antarctic convention as there is a risk that Leopard Seals which have washed up on Australian shores could transmit foreign diseases to the fragile wild population.
With Leopard Seal breeding season right around the corner, Taronga's experienced keepers are now entering a very exciting phase and will begin introductions between the two shortly.