We watched the southern ocean pound the Isthmus throughout Saturday afternoon, and heard it roaring into the night. As we all awoke on Sunday morning we feared the worst for the elephant seals of the Isthmus.
Lone figures roamed around the station, quietly processing the extend of the damage, both on infrastructure, but on the wildlife. Pups washed away from their mothers bleated out, and female elephant seals cried out to try and find their pups. Many of the pups were stuck in holes or erosion gullies and unable to reach their mothers. The little pups most only a few days old were so small and still quiet helpless, hat they were unable to work their way back to the harem after being washed away the day beofre. Some were already falling victim to the Giant Petrels, and others lay alone on the beach, facing certain starvation over the coming days. Macquarie Island is a nature reserve and we are not permitted to interfere with the wildlife, regardless of the circumstances. Most of us found this very confronting, and heartbreaking.
Whilst we'd held out little hope for the seal harems on the west coast, which bore the brunt of the 17 metre seas, we were thrilled to discover that may of them and their pups had managed to seek higher ground up in the tussock.
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| Erosion on the Isthmus from the storm surge overnight: Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Injured seal. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Newborn elephant seal pup washed away from the harem. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Erosion on the Isthmus. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Abandoned pup. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Giant petrels waste no time in feeding on abandoned pups. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Expeditioners taking in the destruction. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Seal pups huddle together. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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| Makeshift breakwater wall of our cage pallets took the brunt of the waves to protect our buildings. Photo: Jacque Comery |
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