301: Bananas for Leopard Seals

301: Bananas for Leopard Seals

From Let's Sea by Kait Birghenthal & Ash Gordon

October 29, 2025 · 1h 12m · Season 3 · Episode 1

About this episode

In this episode, the hosts explore the secret lives of leopard seals with guest Scotty Landes.

In this first episode of SEAson 3, we’re going bananas for leopard seals with Banana Boy #2 himself, Scotty Landes from The Bananas Podcast! In our first flipped-script episode, we dig into the secret lives of these Antarctic predators (literally, we don’t know much about them). Are they science fiction, the stuff of explorer legend, or oddly motherly creatures trying to teach humans to hunt penguins? Sea for yourself! BIG TAKEAWAY: Did you know sound travels faster in water than in air? Even in the Antarctic, the sounds of large cargo ships zigzagging the ocean cause issues to animals like the leopard seal. The noise of these ships has significantly increased in the last few years with the rise of online shopping. These unregulated sounds can lead to decreased mating, hunting, and communication for an animal we still don’t know much about. Think hard about if you actually need that next-day delivery! Resources: 💡Researcher Spotlight: Sarah Stachura Kienle @sarahstachurakienle 🔎Deeper Dive Reads: For the littles: ‘Leopard Seals (Life at the Poles)’ by Dr. Rita Santos; For adults: ‘Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage’ by Alfred Lansing 🌊Conservation in Action: Kienle Lab…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kait Birghenthal, Ash Gordon

Guest: Scotty Landes

Topics covered

  • leopard seals
  • Antarctic predators
  • marine biology
  • sound pollution
  • conservation

Keywords

  • leopard seals
  • Antarctic
  • marine life
  • sound travel
  • conservation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Bananas Podcast, Kienle Lab, Leopard Seal Biology, Ocean Conservation Research, Fox and Fish Printing

Products: Wild

Books & works: Leopard Seals (Life at the Poles), Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage

More episodes of Let's Sea

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Let's Sea podcast page.