The problem with small towns is this: Nothing ever happens spontaneously. Sure, there are events, such as the monthly Art Walk, or the Whales Festival, or New Year concert on the beach. But you see, all these things are planned meticulously and well in advance. It is fun, it gives the town a vibe. It makes people happy.
Occasionally, something will happen quite unplanned. Like the time a dead whale washed out on one of the beaches. But being dead and very much decomposed, the poor deceased chap was very quickly removed from the beach. Or the day a big truck turned the corner too fast and nearly landed on the traffic island, eighteen wheels in the air. Now that caused some consternation.
So, when something big actually happened, ever so unexpectedly, it turned into quite an occasion. It was front page news for the local news rag. An ice cream van named a supersized portion of ice cream after it. The local restaurant placed more seats to face the beach. And all this, because of “Buffel”.
To say that Buffel sneaked onto the beach, would be a bit of an understatement. You see, Buffel, is a young Elephant Seal bull. He is estimated to weigh around 2000kg. At this point (speaking as a woman), I am grateful for the metric system, because weighing 2 000 Kilograms, does sound so much less than weighing 4 400 Pounds! What was Buffel doing there, I hear you ask? Molting. He was molting.
Elephant Seals spend 90% of their life under water, looking for food. Once a year, they look for a good spot where they can spend up to a month, undisturbed, shedding an outer layer of skin and fur. During this time, they eat very little and their skin itches very much while molting. They can get quite irritable. Does that sound familiar? Have you ever experienced a woman on diet at a cake shop? Anyway, do not let me go off topic. There is more to tell you about Elephant seals.
Despite their name, they are not related in any way to elephants. The males do grow a long nose which resembles a short trunk. Now this, ladies, is where an Elephant Seal’s sex appeal lies. This proboscis is considered a secondary sexual characteristic. Aunty Google tells me it is used to produce a loud, roaring noise, especially during mating season. Oh dear.
Thanks to all their blubber, or rather unfortunately because of it, these beasts were hunted to near extinction during the 19th century. You know that century that has so much to answer for when it came to whales, dolphins, seals and other animals. Today, seals no longer need to fear the harpoon. Modern day risk is marine debris, which is doing so much harm to our oceans. (there you go, my soap box moment.)
Buffel chose Onrus Beach as his molting spot. How lucky could we get? To see an animal like this as up close as is safe. It must be the marine equivalent of getting up close with a Rhino. We are able to observe him transform from an extremely bad fur day, to being quite a handsome chap. He does move around the beach quite a bit. If you were to go and look at him now, you will find that his space is closed of with Barrier Tape. He also has two security guards to watch over his safety. On Sunday, when we went down to go meet him, there were a couple of volunteer guides on duty to tell us all about him.
Buffel is 12 years old. Southern Elephant Seals can get as old as 21 years. (Their Northern cousins are smaller in size and only seldom grow older than 10 years.) Buffel was micro chipped at around 2 years old. The person who chipped him all those years ago paid him a visit on Onrus Beach. How special is that?
Unfortunately, there are always those who spoil these things for others. Like the truant teenagers who threw missiles at him one evening. Or the person who wanted to get right up his trunk to take a better photo. Or the very same visitors to the beach who dropped their straws and wrappers. Our oldest son has a passion for Marine Conservancy. I do hope that he will have the opportunity of seeing Buffel, or any one of his mates this close.
I am not much of a Michael Jackson fan. I do however appreciate a good song when I hear one. “Heal the World” is a song from his eighth studio album and was released in 1991. As much as this song is steeped in antiwar lyrics and a wish for humanity of making the world a better place, the lyrics do resonate with me. I was chatting to a new friend. We spoke around religion and spirituality, and how, if each one of us just strove to being the best Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist – whatever!, how different the world would be.
I am going to end in quoting Michael Jackson:
“Heal the world.
Make it a better place.
For you and for me and the entire human race.”
I am sure MJ would not mind if we applied this philosophy to all creatures. Man, or Mouse. Elephant Seal or Elephant Shrew. Christian or Jew. Jew or Muslim.
“And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face.
And the world we once believed in will shine again in grace.
Then why do we keep strangling life.
Wound this earth, crucify its soul.”
And this, coming from a man who once recorded an entire song about a rat.