Seals at Lowest Tide

This image records the most seals we have seen at one place. I found it in Mom’s camera. Clearly the tide is at its lowest: the lagoon is dry. The sea is very calm: calm enough so a seal can stay in place by lifting her head and tail and pressing her belly down onto a rock, even if it is submerged a bit. That maneuver gives seals their characteristic “smile” shape when claiming a resting place.

In an enlarged view, I counted 19 individual animals, although it is too jumbled to be sure of the number in the clump on “seal rock” itself.

Once, Mom and I counted 23 seals, but that included several on “the sisters”, too. And no picture to prove it.

For me, the take-away from this image is the extent of the rocky reef that we call “seal rock.” It is not just a rock, but a small reef. You kayakers will know just how shallow the water out there actually is.