Wordless Wednesday

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Picture by: Brian Hatfield

A Happy Ending

San Luis Obispo.com, reports:

A prodigal elephant seal that spent nearly two weeks mingling with cattle on the Hearst Ranch east of Highway 1 wandered back into the ocean Friday, with a little help from some trained human friends. Brian Hatfield, marine biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that about 9 a.m., a six-person team used tarps, four-wheel drive vehicles, sirens, horns and lights to herd the critter about 300 yards northward on the ranch. The team cut fences, then shooed the
seal across the road and onto a vista-point bluff. Good news for sure.

If you missed my original Post

Lots of interesting things going on in the animal world this week.

The Santa Barbara Zoo, one of my favorite ones, sadly reported the news that Gemina, their oldest and most beloved Giraffe, passed away today. Gemina was known far and wide for her crooked neck, died of old age at 21. She was one of the most popular exhibits at the zoo. The crooked neck was a defect that had nothing to do with her death, and reportedly caused her no ill effects. Every time we went to the zoo we took the long walk to the back of the zoo to see her and the other Giraffe's in their enclosure. She will be missed. Up the coast near San Simeon, north of Santa Barbara, elephant seals are colonizing the beaches. This is a comeback, after nearly being hunted to extinction. It seems a male elephant seal has crossed Highway 1, and has taken up lodging in a large puddle and authorties are worried that he might get too comfy in his new habitat to head back to the beach. More to come on this!