One lovely summers day I was scrolling through Facebook as one does, and I saw a post on a local community page about a massive seal that had appeared on the wharf that morning. As a nature geek, I recognized the species immediately.
This was a leopard seal. Often found in Antarctica and the surrounding waters. However from time to time, they wander further north and have a bit of a holiday. It seemed my local brunch spot was lucky enough to have this leopard seal appear practically on their door step.
There was no way I was going to waste this opportunity. It's particularly rare for leopard seals to venture this far north. Let alone for a wild one to be within a 30 minute drive from my house, and I was lucky enough to have the day off work. So I jumped in my car and boosted it down to the wharf, praying that she hadn't swam off yet.
Luckily by the time I made it to the water front she was still basking in the sun. A decent crowd had gathered to watch her, but the tide was high and the dock cordoned off so she was completely unbothered. It was a great day for it, sun shining, water sparkling. I sat on the shore and snapped away, taking my time, she was clearly in no rush.
I returned home a happy camper, and eagerly awaited my film to return from developing. Then I saw another post a few week later, dubbing her Flora. She had returned! And once again, I had the day off work.
This time it was a lot quieter, a gloomier day and the tide was low. Not only that, she was a bit more active, slowly waking up from a good nap. She was such a gorgeous creature, well over 6 feet long.
Short dappled grey fur, keen eyes, huge teeth. Leopard seals have been documented as highly intelligent and often aggressive. However she seemed more curious than anything, blinking her eyes, stretching her fins, yawning. Looking over at me and a couple of other people taking photos. And stretching her fins again.
How lucky we were to witness this wild creature that had found her way to our shores. I for one was more than happy to share my home with her. Though the vacation had to end, and after a couple more visits, it seemed like she had moved on to other waters. I hope she's well and not getting up to too much mischief.
