Thursday, February 20, 2014

Southern Elephant Seal.. a surprising visitor!



Isn't he a handsome fella! I was just about out the door yesterday morning heading into the city to take some shots of  'Stonehenge'.. no kidding, will show you tomorrow.. when I had a call from my sister, thanks L, to say there was an unexpected visitor on Sorrento Beach five minutes from home. A quick detour and there he was.. all 2000 kg of him! Coming ashore for a bit of R & R after a hunting expedition in the colder waters of the sub-antarctic islands little did he realise the amount of interest he would generate. It was all very calm and quiet early in the morning, with the local TV stations setting up to record his every flibber flabber, believe me he flibbered and flabbered, as he made his way down closer to the waters edge.. did I mention that it was 37C yesterday, didn't seem to bother him as he rolled and flipped sand over himself...


That's quite a derriere..suddenly I don't feel so bad about my extra five kg :)


There I was snapping away when I realised there was a barrage of cameras facing me.. I'd better not be on the news :)


Sleep while you can Monsieur Seal.. you are going to be the 'star' attraction when Perthites finish work....


Naturally Aimee wanted to have a peek when she finished work but we were too late, just look at that crowd, there wasn't any point in even trying.  I took this shot from way over at the marina. It did worry me a bit to see him so closely surrounded as these huge seals have very big teeth and can get aggressive if they feel threatened.. ah well if you don't listen to the warnings etc. Btw yes, the sky and the water were that blue! Have a fab Thursday, take care and stay safe.....p.s. he is in excellent health, just exhausted..




39 comments:

  1. That is huge!

    The earlier shots of the day, people seem to be keeping back enough for the comfort of the animal, but that last shot, yes, it's troubling. If I were the seal, I'd find that bothersome.

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  2. WOW!!!! What a big fellow!!!! Great shots!!!!

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  3. Oh, what a huge fellow he is indeed!! I love your captures, Grace!! I would love to have seen him before those huge crowds gathered!! I'm so glad you got these pictures and thanks as always for sharing!!

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  4. He is huge, a really impressive seal. I like all your pictures, but my favorite is your last shot, with all the curious people crowded around him!

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  5. Oh my goodness, what a fantastic sight! I love seeing seals roll out on public beaches, he's magnificent! (That last shot is indeed insane though...well, they were warned!)

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  6. You would make an excellent news reporter and photographer! I bet your coverage here is better than anything seen on the news. Fabulous!!!!

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  7. An amazing creature! I do hope it was all right and not distressed.

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  8. I hope he could go back to sea safely ! Really a fascinating meeting, indeed!

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  9. That is one "chunky" dude! My favorite shot is the middle one from the tail side looking toward the sea! Great shot.

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  10. He looks exhausted! Of course if I had to carry around that much weight (on land as him) I think I would be pretty tired too.

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  11. That reminds me, I must phone my sister.

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  12. Wonderful shots. He looks at peace. I hope he made his way into the sea safely.

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  13. I hope he managed to make his way back out to sea, Grace!

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  14. How neat! If I was one of those guys I would head for Perth!

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  15. I expect he has his own Twitter account by now! Hope he went back out to sea when he was good n ready.

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  16. Hallo Grace,
    it seems really relaxed... hope it's fine with him ! very nice!
    very kind regards

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  17. That face and those eyes! What a beautiful creature. I'm glad you were able to get so close and also avoid that crowd.

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  18. He looks like me the last time I went to the beach!

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  19. How neat to get to see him. That crowd is amazing. can't imagine what he thought!?

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  20. He looks very wise. The crowd seem rather too close to him for their own safety and his peace of mind.

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  21. At first I thought you were going to say you headed out the door and were met by this wee little fellow on a furlough from wherever he was supposed to be. I guess it's a big enough shock to see him on the beach. In Florida people sometimes find alligators on their front porch. That's not a good thing! :)

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  22. I was glad and relieved to see that last comment. We often see whales and dolphins beached here, not because they want a rest, but because they are disoriented and often are likely to . . . expire.

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  23. OMG. It looks like a torpedo who feeds on cheeseburgers.

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  24. What fine photos of an amazing seal. What a rare opportunity, but you were obviously up to the challenge. Those people should not crowd him. I've seen elephant seals chase off polar bears, the world's largest carnivore.

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  25. I'm so in LOVE by seals! Your pictures are excellent, bravo!
    Léia

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  26. My first thought when I saw your photo Grace was "Gosh these animals are ugly" and then I read your opening line "isn't he a handsome fella" and a smile spread across my face.

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  27. Wow what an experience, thanks for sharing. Have a good day Diane

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  28. Wow, Grace, that is some guest! Thank you for sharing!

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  29. This is like that old joke, "where does a 2000 kg seal sleep?..." (Replace "seal" and "sleep" with whatever.)

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  30. Oh poor boy, he lost his way completely, did he get away?

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  31. Glad your sister made that call. Great to see.

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  32. oh he is adorable, love all the shots! and i'm happy to hear he's in fine health, i was a bit worried about him!

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  33. I just heard this on the radio today, what a lucky lady you were. What a crowd!!! He never thought he would be so popular!

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  34. Great series, Grace, this huge fellow has become famous!

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  35. In the Central Coast of California there's an Elephant Seal Rookery...an area of beach where hundreds, if not thousands of Elephant Seals come to shore to give birth and proceed to re start the cycle of mating only a month or so later!!! An extraordinary experience!!! Ain't nature grand???

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