Fur seals, aren’t they long-bearded men with pipes in the corner of their mouths? Yes, yes, but fur seals can also be small and fluffy – and keep the police busy.
What’s a fur seal again? An old man with a beard, a pipe in the corner of his mouth and a striped sweater? Captain Haddock, Captain Igloo and Captain Bluebear come to mind. Fur seals are also mythical sea beasts. According to marine fauna expert SpongeBob SquarePants, the fur seal is a bear-headed fish that becomes aggressive when underwater creatures play the clarinet poorly, wear a sombrero, and scream like a chimpanzee. Nonsense? Not at all: “Fur seals exist and fairy tales are true”, is in an episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” Pseudo-of-Scientific Monthly Bulletin to read.
The strange creature that the police picked up on a thoroughfare north of San Francisco did not wear a captain’s hat and was neither bear head nor the shape of a fish. It looked quite fluffy and waddled in the middle of the traffic. Eyewitnesses had alerted the police that an “otter” was walking on a street near San Rafael. The animal turned out to be a young eared seal belonging to the species of northern fur seals. Fur seals differ from seals by their particularly thick fur.
Fur seals actually spend their time in the open ocean and on remote islands. They are not country bears. In the past, the animals were hunted for their fur, they were almost extinct before they were placed under protection. It is good news that the police are rescuing small fur seals on land. The marine mammal was brought to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito and will soon be able to set sail again. It’s just like what Spongebob says: fur seals exist and fairy tales are true.
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