Wildlife
As if all the non-living threats to your well-being on
Antarctic sea ice were not enough, there are two living
threats. One is the killer whale, which patrols these waters
in search of seals and penguins to eat and can easily consume
a person who accidentally fell into the water. The other is
the leopard seal. One of these bulky beasts once dragged the
explorer Gareth Wood toward a watery death before he was able
to escape (see
Survival Stories). Another almost got Thomas
Orde-Lees
during Shackleton's expedition. The 12-foot-long animal chased
Orde-Lees over the ice before vanishing back into the water,
only to resurface in front of him, having tracked his shadow
from beneath the ice. The rifle pictured here, William
Bakewell's
Winchester .30-.30 carbine, may have been the very weapon
Frank
Wild
used to finally bring the lunging creature down.
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