An incredible journey
Scientists track young elephant seal’s long swim home from South Africa
ZIGGY the elephant seal is a celebrity in South Africa.
It’s not just because of the pup’s birth last year, although that was unusual for a creature typically found in the Southern Ocean or on islands near Antarctica.
“Every few years, a few ellie seals come ashore on the South African coast, but most of these are young animals in an exploratory phase of their life,” said marine scientist Greg Hofmeyr. “To have a pup born (here) ... is extremely rare.”
Hofmeyr is a researcher at Bayworld in Port Elizabeth. He got involved in October after a female seal, named Zelda, appeared on the beach at Cape Recife and gave birth to Ziggy. For the next three weeks, he and volunteers monitored the pair from a distance.
When Zelda returned to the ocean in mid-November, the pup was fat and healthy, but still at risk on the beach, Hofmeyr said. That’s when Bayworld became Ziggy’s temporary home, and he became the team’s sweetheart. He loved to play with the dead fish added to his pool each day for mealtime. And though he wasn’t in a public space, visitors frequently asked about him.
A few days before Christmas, a new adventure began. The research team secured a satellite-linked tag on the his head that would allow him to be tracked in the ocean. They loaded him on a boat and released him about 40 nautical miles off the coast, betting he would head toward ever-deeper waters.
His journey could provide new details on his species. Researchers hope to gauge whether elephant seals rely on instinct to find their way or learn where to go by experience. Or maybe it is both, Hofmeyr said.
“We will be able to follow Ziggy’s movements and diving behaviour.”
When the scientists released him, they expected him to swim more than a thousand challenging miles.
“We hope that he doesn’t meet any killer whales,” Hofmeyr said.
If he proves a smart, lucky seal, he will reach one of those islands near Antarctica in a few months.
“Ziggy could teach us more about how pups adapt to the sea and navigate for the first time.”
As of last Sunday, Ziggy’s adventure had taken him more than 1 200 nautical miles from Port Elizabeth. On January 6, he entered the Roaring Forties, a stormy region of the Southern Ocean that is home to his species. Braving the region for the past two weeks, he reached the Antarctic Polar Front.
Ziggy is still fairly far from any sub-antarctic island, the natural homes of the elephant seals. The nearest is Bouvet Island, about 500 nautical miles to his south-west.
It’s not just the researchers who are keeping a close eye on him.
Bayworld is updating the public on Port Elizabeth Museum Marine Animals’ Facebook page. By yesterday afternoon, the page had 51 comments (such as “Well done Ziggy”; “Keep going you’re getting there!!!”, 138 shares and 295 likes.
It looks like everyone is rooting for a successful journey for the brave seal. |