My Day With The Seal Research TeamYesterday was a life-changing day for me that I will never forget. The seal research team had invited me to spend the day helping them haul their equipment and they had asked me to help them capture video of their work. First, we searched the rapidly melting sea ice for two days until we found thick floes with seals on them. Yesterday as the Oden's big crane lowered the team's inflatable Zodiac over the side, loaded with nets and skis and biological sampling equipment I was so excited that I could barely control myself. A few weeks ago I had walked out from the ship to video the team as they worked with a seal but today I was welcomed as a member of the group. My job was to help carry equipment and to shoot video of the capture process. I also was needed to help surround and hold down the seal during capture. As the 15-horse motor propelled us away from the only home I had known for the last month, I watched the Oden get small in a hurry. Then I looked at the ice covered polar sea and I was flooded by childhood memories of watching countless TV shows about wildlife biologists at work. Those images played an important role in my decision to study environmental science in college and my ultimate career as a science teacher. No episode of Wild Kingdom, Cousteau, National Geographic, NOVA or even the Croc Hunter was ever as good as where I was and what I was doing at that moment. The little inflatable boat amazed me as Jonas used it to push slabs of sea ice out of the way. At times we were the world's smallest icebreaker. Eventually we approached our destination and as the boat pulled up to the flow if reminded me of the thousand times I had pulled up to a shore in a small boat. Except as we stepped from the Zodiac we were 150 miles from the coast and at least a thousand miles from any boat other than the Oden. As I balanced on the edge of the Zodiac, I was not about to step onto firm ground but rather 2 feet of snow on top of 4 feet of sea ice. And between the boat and the ice was ocean over 2 miles deep. All my senses were working at full power as I tried to take in the whole experience and burn it into my memory.
Once we had loaded all of the gear onto the ice, we each changed into cross-country ski boots, grabbed the gear and started to ski toward the seal. Tero and Jonas each carried a 2-pole net on their shoulders and Olle carried the canvas bags that would be put over the seal's head to calm it down. I carried a backpack full of camera equipment, a tripod and the toolboxes filled with biological sampling equipment. As we each skied over the floe we were unable to use our ski poles because of all the equipment we carried in our hands. I have been skiing for over 30 years but it was a little challenging to keep my balance on the rough floe with so much gear and so few poles. To add to the drama of the situation, the flow was very inconsistent in thickness. We knew that some parts were quite thick and safe but in many other places the snow cover was a dull gray color and our tracks turned to slush. This warned us of thin, rotting ice. Although we each wore a floatation suit, none of us wanted to be the first one to test ours. The seawater below the ice and the air above it were both about 1˚C below zero and it would be a long, cold trip back to the Oden if we made any mistakes.
As we approached the lone crabeater seal, it was resting on its back and gently scratching itself on the snow. It did not seem to mind our approach until the scientists were within about 20 feet. After a missed attempt with the net the seal decided to head for the nearest open water about 150 yards away with 3 scientists and a cameraman working to keep up. It is amazing how fast a 200-pound seal can travel over deep snow and it was much harder for its two-legged pursuers. Tero and I managed to head off the seal's retreat and Jonas made a perfect flying leap while holding the net open with his hands and both of his feet off the ground. The V-shaped net came down over the seal with a wooden pole on both sides and Jonas hanging on for all he was worth. Olle and Tero quickly helped hold the seal down and within a few moments it was calm enough for the scientific data to be collected. For a complete description of the data collection process you can watch the Seal Research Video I created and posted on my Dec 19 journal.
One thing that made this seal very special was that it had the worst and most recent wounds from a leopard seal attack yet encountered by the team. We had seen wounds and scars on 50% of the crabeaters but this poor seal was in tough shape. Two of the wounds had the characteristic parallel pattern created by the upper canine teeth of the leopard seal as it bites into a seal and slices long gashes in the side of its potential prey. This seal had escaped an attack within a few days and the wounds showed no sign of healing. The cuts went through fur covered skin and over 1 inch into the blubber layer. None of us had ever seen a population of animals that showed evidence of this much predator attack damage. Yet, we have seen many healthy adult crabeater seals with huge, well-healed scars that look just like the fresh wounds on this seal. As we released the crabeater it appeared strong and otherwise healthy. It moved about 200 feet away, took a short dip in the sea and then came back onto the ice and lay down to continue the rest we had interrupted. We wished it well and carefully packed up the samples it had generated. This seal had become part of the most comprehensive study of crabeater seal health ever conducted.
After a 500-yard trek back to the Zodiac, the four of us sat down on the sea ice "shore" and had a little "fika"; the Swedish word for coffee break. Olle produced a bag of cookies to share and I found a bag of almonds in my pack that I had brought from home and had saved for a special occasion. This was surely a special occasion. As we shared and enjoyed our coffee and treats, we talked openly about how we each were in awe of this magical landscape. I have always felt comfortable in the snows of winter, but to sit with friends on the windswept, snow and ice covered ocean off the coast of Antarctica on a cold summer day was a beautiful memory I will never forget.
Thank you to my friends Tero, Olle and Jonas.
Each of the three members of the seal research team have specific roles and first to climb down the rope ladder and pilot the Zodiac inflatable boat is Dr. Tielmann from Denmark. He is also responsible for labelling and organizing all the samples collected in the field. Jonas is also an excellent wildlife photographer.