IT was like any typical teenager, turning up late, sleeping all night and well into the morning. To the onlookers gathered at Tuncurry’s breakwall on Tuesday morning, this Australian Fur Seal basking in the winter sun was certainly ticking all the teenage boxes.
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“We’d call this one a sub-adult, a juvenile. It looks to be in a very healthy condition. We generally get between two to 10 of them turning up on our coastline every year,” National Parks and Wildlife Service’s (NPWS) Brett Cann said.
“This one just happens to have chosen a very public spot,” his colleague Rachel Kempers laughed.
Boy or girl, it certainly did not look like it was going to go anywhere fast. With a safety perimeter established as far as was reasonably practical on the only road going up to the Tuncurry’s busy rockpool area, the exclusion zone was not quite the required 40 metres but unknown to the seal the volunteers from ORRCA were safeguarding its welfare, directing traffic and curious bystanders from getting too close.
“The important thing to remember is not to get too close. If they feel threatened, these seals can get quite aggressive and move incredibly fast,” Brett said.
For 18-year-old Great Lakes College student Jessie Simpson, it was a long night, not that she would admit it. This was her first callout as an ORRCA volunteer after having joined the group last year. She was one of the first on the scene when the seal was reported on Monday night and kept a watchful eye on it bar a few stolen hours of sleep.
“I’m so excited to be here. It’s what I want to do,” she said on Tuesday morning.
Jessie is planning on spending a gap year next year volunteering as a reptile handler at Gosford’s Reptile Park and hopes to eventually be part of wildlife activities on the Sea Shepherd. In the meantime she would like to remain a member of ORRCA for as long as possible.
“We [National Parks and Wildlife Service] can’t as an agency do everything. ORRCA volunteers look after marine mammals and can help where we can’t always be,” Brett said.
Whether it was oblivious or relishing the attention, this well guarded fur seal was expected to depart, like any teenager, when it was rested and ready.
All marine wildlife sightings and incidences can be reported to ORRCA’s hotline on 9415 3333.
