Rkitko
08-21-2006, 04:14 AM
Went out kayaking again yesterday and saw some interesting sites:
Firstly: What are all these silly people gawking at?
http://www.somethingtimeless.com/images/urbannaturalists.jpg
...
This!
http://www.somethingtimeless.com/images/sealzoom2.jpg
More Pacific harbor seals ("common seal" to you UK rudies and "harbour seal" to you Canadian rudies). This time they have a salmon lunch!
For the past couple weeks, I've noticed swelling numbers of gawking humans standing in the above spot, looking down into the water at these playful fellows and the salmon, which are acclimating themselves to the freshwater-turned-brackish as it spills over the Capitol Lake dam and into the briny Puget Sound. It's amazing how, outside of a zoo, people instantly become a sort of naturalist when they notice urban wildlife. My hope is that there will be a connection like this one: Aww, what attractive creatures. I'd like to be able to see them more often. I just read in The Olympian (http://www.theolympian.com) that Puget Sound is experiencing some pollution problems... I wonder if these seals and their habitat have been affected. I should learn more and maybe do what I can. But the cynical side of me urges that this level of analysis rarely happens and often stops at the "Awww" stage.
</rant>
Firstly: What are all these silly people gawking at?
http://www.somethingtimeless.com/images/urbannaturalists.jpg
...
This!
http://www.somethingtimeless.com/images/sealzoom2.jpg
More Pacific harbor seals ("common seal" to you UK rudies and "harbour seal" to you Canadian rudies). This time they have a salmon lunch!
For the past couple weeks, I've noticed swelling numbers of gawking humans standing in the above spot, looking down into the water at these playful fellows and the salmon, which are acclimating themselves to the freshwater-turned-brackish as it spills over the Capitol Lake dam and into the briny Puget Sound. It's amazing how, outside of a zoo, people instantly become a sort of naturalist when they notice urban wildlife. My hope is that there will be a connection like this one: Aww, what attractive creatures. I'd like to be able to see them more often. I just read in The Olympian (http://www.theolympian.com) that Puget Sound is experiencing some pollution problems... I wonder if these seals and their habitat have been affected. I should learn more and maybe do what I can. But the cynical side of me urges that this level of analysis rarely happens and often stops at the "Awww" stage.
</rant>