Arctic seal is found in Florida canal

[IDemo]

SeaWorld staff hope to rehabilitate animal and returned it to North Pole

Associated Press
Updated: 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Arctic seal found in Florida far from its natural habitat near the North Pole has been taken to SeaWorld for treatment.

The bearded seal is thin and dehydrated, responding when touched by staff members but otherwise resting quietly, Dr. Christopher Dold, a staff veterinarian at SeaWorld, said late Monday.

Rescuers used two nets to remove the 6-foot-long, 250-pound seal from a canal in a residential area Monday. Veterinary staff at SeaWorld will attempt to rehabilitate the animal so it can be returned to the North Pole.

Scientists do not know what has caused the seal to travel so far south. Blair Mase-Guthrie, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's stranding coordinator, said the seal might have been caught up in an unusual current or following elusive prey.

[newscott]

1. He shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

[Spinzonner]

2. Just came for a visit

to get an idea what the new arctic climate would be like.

[Clark2008]

3. He's following Mumble and coming here to tell us to STOP

MESSING WITH HIS FOOD CHAIN.

BTW, I just saw "Happy Feet" the other night with my son and I'm still perplexed as to why fundies hated that movie. Because they were dancing? :shrug:

[DemBones DemBones]

12. Well, you know there's an old joke that

fundamentalists won't have sex standing up because someone might see them and think they were dancing.


:evilgrin:

[Zywiec]

4. It's amazing how far these animals can travel n/t

[jobycom]

5. Ah, spring break. nt

[jpak]

6. Bearded seal songs are amazing

They sound like something from Pink Floyd's "Umma Gumma".

listen here...

http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9903/nature.exhibits/sounds/bearded.seal.15.mp3

[Xithras]

7. It's not all that unusual.

There's one living in a river in Tokyo that's been there for years, and there have been dozens of other sightings over the years along both coasts of the Pacific and Atlantic. They typically don't wander this far south because predators are more numerous, but if they make it and they manage to evade the things that want to eat them, there's no reason they couldn't survive in warmer climates.

[Eugene]

8. Arctic seal dies after swimming to Fla. - AP

Source: Associated Press

Arctic seal dies after swimming to Fla.

1 hour, 7 minutes ago

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Arctic seal found in a Fort Lauderdale canal — far
from its habitat near the North Pole — died Tuesday, a day after it was
captured.

The bearded seal was thin and dehydrated, though it was not immediately
known what killed the animal. Dr. Christopher Dold, a staff veterinarian
at SeaWorld, said the park would examine it Tuesday to try to learn more.

However, Dold said it may never be known why the animal came so far
south.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070508/ap_on_re_us/wayward_seal

[texpatriot2004]

9. Seems to me the seal came to deliver the message that to us

that something is not right in our environment. Just a thought. The article says we may never know why the seal came so far south. I think it's yet another warning sign.

[Delphinus]

10. You might just be right.

Will we listen?

[texpatriot2004]

11. What would that look like I wonder? Us listening? The US

listening? Many people listen to these things in horror, the polar bears, the bees, the seal that ended up in Florida...but what are we supposed to do?

Would we give up our cell phones if we thought it might save the bees? Would we give up our cars? Our air conditioning? Doubtful, at least on a large enough scale to matter.

[DemBones DemBones]

13. Would it matter if a great many individuals gave up

cell phones, cars, AC, when corporations are the really big polluters and the very rich the biggest consumers?

I think Homo sapiens may the utimate cause of death for most living things on this planet and the more time goes by, the less I think we can change that. Maybe the next evolutionary cycle will go better.

I'm not saying we should give up doing what we can, but sometimes we blame ourselves too much when industries and other corporate entities create far more problems than we do. From working in the chemical industry, I know that a chemical plant's waste water treatment plant doesn't have to report on the daily water quality of treated wastes that are dumped in a nearby creek or river. (We're talking chemical wastes here, not sewage, which goes to the city system.) I think at the time they only had to submit one report a month to the EPA. Naturally they pick the day with the best quality, and I don't think they're required to report all chemical spills within the plant.

Industries hate reporting on-the-job injuries, too, and aren't required to unless they're Lost Time Injuries. Plants strive to have good records and post signs saying, fo example, "190 Days Without an LTI -- Work Safe!" They make going a year without an LTI a big goal, promise some incentive like a free lunch for all. It sounds like a caring approach to worker safety. In fact, if you get hurt on the job, you'll be required to come in and sit at a desk for half a day every day, even though the company-paid doctor said you needed a couple of days in bed. As long as you come in for half a day, the company doesn't have to report your injury as an LTI. Of course, for serious injuries that require more time off, you're supposed to be able to get Workers' Compensation. But those who try soon find their employer claiming that they are able to work, and the company-paid doc will back up the company. That's in plants with unions, so I don't know that unions helps much these days.

[texpatriot2004]

14. I do agree that corporations cause more pollution and are not

held accountable for it, nor are they regulated as they should be...corporate greed is our greatest threat - next to the madman in the WH and his evil sidekick.

I also agree with you about humanity. I really don't have much faith in mankind to abort this path that we are on now. Perhaps I will be surprised but I am not holding my breath. I should be more optimistic, you know, have more hope and faith and vision...