There are a lot of reasons why traffic comes to a halt. We've all been stuck in a traffic jam, or the school bus is late due to bad weather or traffic. Visiting politicians stop the flow or maybe you've been to a parade that sealed off streets. Our main road was 'sealed' off the other day too. And I mean Sealed off. The rules and regulations concerning the local wildfelife are very strict and very clear that humans are not to disrupt the 'locals.' So if a fur seal crawls up onto station and decides to snooze ALL day and into the night...well that road is blocked.
A yawning Fur seal. This guy's choice of spots to lounge all day held up some operations by a seal
What is that blob of something in the pathway to the pier? I don't remember seeing that before.
When I looked outside in the morning I saw a big blob smack dab in the middle of the roadway to the pier. But wait, that's no blob, that's a fur seal. I've seen them come up on the rocks here. So have you actually. Remember that video I posted of the fur seal trying to scratch that itch? But I don't think it is very common for them to come right up on to the grounds. But there it was so the forklift couldn't drive by, the boaters and divers couldn't drag their zodiac boats down to the pier until this guy decided to go get some food or find another napping spot.
When I got a little closer I saw that the blob was really a new guest at the station. But a guest that was not invited. The lack of invite didn't seem to bother him much.
Uh-oh. Doesn't look like this guy is going anywhere soon. And he didn't. He was there into the dark of evening.
They don't even get up to go to the bathroom - they just go. When you get a bunch of seals together - especially Elephant seals you can really smell them. So can the Sheathbill that feasts on seal poop as one of its many preferred meals.
When seals are lounging around, the Sheathbill is often not far away. Featured in its nutritious diet is seal poop. Yep, you heard right - it does eat seal poop. These birds are nicknamed the Antarctic Chicken
A sign was posted in the galley to alert everyone to take caution around seal that was in the pathway on the way to the pier. This area is also called the Bat Cave.