Giant elephant seal flopping around busy Chile town gets unique rescue, videos show
A giant elephant seal was caught flopping far from its home on the pavement in a busy urban center in Chile on Monday, Oct. 5 as pedestrians and cars went about their travels.
Several videos posted on social media show the seal resting on curbs and venturing out to the middle of streets in Puerto Cisnes, Chile.
A local news outlet reported that the seal traveled for about 10 blocks from the ocean to the busy seaside community.
The Chilean Navy eventually directed the animal back to the ocean by forming a barrier with a large black tarp. After a frightening and confusing ordeal for the seal, it slides into the water in what appears to be a docking area for boats, a video posted on Facebook shows.
“Fifty people participated in the rescue of the animal, a job that took many hours, but ended with a happy ending for the elephant seal, which was able to return safely to the sea,” local news outlet La Vanguardia reported.
The southern elephant seal is the largest of all seal species and can live up to 23 years. Males can grow to be about 20 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds, according to Oceana. Females are much smaller; they can reach 2,200 pounds and about 12 feet long.
Their name comes from the elephant-like trunk that males develop as they become sexually mature.
Southern elephant seals used to be hunted for their blubber, which was turned into oil, but a ban on commercial hunting in 1964 helped the species recover from low populations, Oceana said.
“However, potential impacts of expanding Southern Ocean fisheries and ongoing climate change on the populations of this seal are not well known, so it is important to continue to study and monitor this and other Antarctic seals,” the organization said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Giant elephant seal flopping around busy Chile town gets unique rescue, videos show."
