Why do scientists in Antarctica always slap seals? Because it's fake...

Recently, an interesting story about a scientist slapping a seal has been circulating on the Internet. The article said that scientists in Antarctica would slap seals after installing scientific research equipment (such as sensors) on seals. The article also said that this is an unspoken rule of Antarctic scientific research, which is to teach seals some "lessons" to let them know that humans are not good things, so that they will not be hunted or harmed because they trust humans too much .

Slap a seal? Be careful of seals slapping you

In other words, scientists are telling seals, "I'm hitting you, but it's for your own good."

Does it sound touching at first? But if you think about it carefully, you will find that this statement is full of mistakes - it overestimates the image of humans in the eyes of seals and underestimates the combat effectiveness of seals.

Two male southern elephant seals are covered in blood after a fight. I believe no human would be willing to slap them｜Hullwarren / Wikimedia Commons

Fake! Fake!

I consulted one of the scientific expedition members who was studying Antarctic marine mammals (my senior), and also consulted a friend who had more than ten years of experience as an Antarctic guide. She had observed researchers from other countries installing satellite signal tags on Antarctic seals. As a result, I got strict and negative responses: I had never seen it.

Although the Antarctic research stations mentioned in this article are traceable, there are no references listed in the article. We searched the Internet using English keywords and did not find any relevant news .

The article also mentions the names of some researchers, such as Dr. Sheldon, who regretted slapping a seal. However, using "McMurdo Station Sheldon" as a keyword does not yield any relevant information.

In addition, there is an impressive picture in the article. I have seen this seal with its tongue sticking out in some news before, but I am sure that the news was not about the story of hunting seals.

This image is not fictional, but the seal was not slapped in the face and stuck out its tongue.

My guide friend helped me find the source of the original picture. As expected, this picture came from another news: researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute installed sensors on the heads of a group of southern elephant seals, so that they could obtain environmental parameters of the ice shelves in the eastern Antarctic region through the activities of southern elephant seals. The original news did not mention that the researchers shot seals , and the person who took this photo was not the so-called "Dr. Guderian", but Dr. Lars Boehme of the University of St. Andrews in the UK.

Original news source: https://news.agu.org/press-release/elephant-seals-help-uncover-slower-than-expected-antarctic-melting/

After checking this far, I can basically believe that this "interesting anecdote" is not credible. My guide friend suggested that I ask Dr. Lass. While I, a dwarf in action, was still procrastinating, @小象初生 on Weibo, a giant in action, had already sent an inquiry email to Dr. Lass and received a reply very quickly .

Dr. Russ replied to @小象初生. The letter mentioned that scientists cannot approach seals at will; if they must approach and catch seals for experiments, they need sufficient reasons and will be highly regulated. If scientists want to slap seals, they will be banned from conducting animal-related research forever - in short, it is fake news.

@小象初生 also shared his own verification ideas with Calendar Girl, which were similar to those of Meow Fish Sauce: He first searched for keywords in English, but could not find any relevant news; he then searched for the photo of a seal sticking out its tongue, and found the original photographer, Dr. Lars; he also searched for "Guderian" in the article, and the search results were a German military strategist from the last century...

Thanks to @小象初生加真's inquiry and Dr. Russ's quick response, we can now confirm 100% that the so-called seal being slapped by scientists is fake news . The person who wrote this fake news probably never thought about what the consequences would be if a seal was really slapped in Antarctica.

Seals, though, are not so easy to mess with—and they don’t want to mess with humans.

Many seals are willing to get close to humans? You're overthinking it!

Antarctica is a paradise for wildlife, with a large number of seabirds, seals and fur seals breeding and living here, with their footprints all over the Antarctic islands, the edge of the continent, and some places extending into the interior of the continent. It is a place with few people, and most wild animals have never seen a human in their entire lives. When they see humans, they tend to watch cautiously and try to avoid them, rather than actively approaching them .

Nowadays, human activities in Antarctica are also strictly restricted. Generally speaking, tourists, researchers or others are not allowed to touch wild animals in Antarctica . If researchers want to conduct research on these animals, they must obtain environmental and animal ethics permits from relevant agencies.

In this situation where both parties keep their distance, only a few seals, usually curious pups, may show close behavior to humans - it should be emphasized that this situation is still very rare.

It is very rare for Antarctic seals to approach humans. Usually only southern elephant seal pups at specific landing points will show such behavior, and this phenomenon usually occurs in the Subantarctic, not the Antarctic. However, according to regulations, even if a seal takes the initiative to approach you, you cannot show any response and you cannot pet the seal｜thedodo.com

Looking back at our experience working in Antarctica, most seals there reacted to human presence with alertness , but a few did not care at all. Especially seals on the ice floes, once a speedboat approaches, they will obviously show uneasiness, such as frequently looking up, staring at the speedboat, or even turning over and swimming in the water. Seals on land will also squirm away once they find humans entering their warning zone; larger seals may also show a defensive posture, roaring at humans or even rushing towards them (of course, squirm).

Therefore, it is not an easy task for researchers to put scientific research equipment on a seal, especially a large seal, and anesthesia is usually required.

Would an adult southern elephant seal let you operate it like this while it is awake?

No, first they will be like this...

And then like this...

Finally, when I was covered with a hood, I received a needle in my neck...

The above three pictures are from meop.net

In Antarctica, there is nowhere to treat a broken bone.

Can a slap or a beating really make seals remember human "evil"? This also involves the selection of research subjects and the size difference.

In reality, although baby seals are less wary of humans than adult seals, researchers are unlikely to install research equipment on baby seals , which is one of the research operations before the slap mentioned in the fake news. Baby seals do not go into the water before their hair falls off, and their range of activities is very small. Moreover, their hair falls off within a few weeks, and after that, the research equipment will also fall off. Even for baby seals that have just shed their hair, the mortality rate in the first year of life is very high. The equipment will not last long after installation, and the cost of implementation is too high.

A Weddell seal that has not shed its fur yet. Scientists are unlikely to install scientific research equipment on these babies, and even if they do, they will not slap them when they are young! | Samuel Blanc / Wikimedia Commons

Therefore, researchers prefer to install research equipment on sub-adult and adult seals. So, when facing a friendly adult seal, will we slap it after the research is over? No, I dare not, and I don’t want to…

There are five species of seals distributed in and around Antarctica: Weddell seals, crabeater seals, southern elephant seals, leopard seals and Ross seals. Except for the Ross seal, which is the smallest and has been less studied, the adult size of the other four seals is larger than that of humans . Especially the southern elephant seal, the adult male individual can reach up to 6 meters in length and weigh nearly 4 tons.

Researchers are marking southern elephant seals. Not to mention that slapping someone in the face does not comply with the ethical requirements of animal experiments, just looking at the size difference, it is not certain who will slap whom...｜eleseal.org

According to the regulations issued by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), at the landing point, tourists are required to keep a safe distance of more than 15 meters from Antarctic fur seals that can hold up their upper bodies and run very fast, and a safe distance of more than 25 meters from adult male southern elephant seals - you can't predict what a large breeding seal might do to you if it doesn't like you. Even if it is a smaller adult seal, once it is beaten and enraged while awake, and fights back against the researchers, the researchers can't stand it.

After all, medical conditions in Antarctica are extremely limited, and there are no good orthopedic doctors to help with treatment.

Always have to prepare for the next study

Suppose that after a slap or a beating, the friendly seal really does not trust humans, is that all that will be fine?

The original article even mentioned that the slap protected the Antarctic seals from being hunted...

Are seals hunted by humans because they foolishly approach humans? No, baby seals are more likely to be hunted because they are not yet able to swim and cannot escape in time. Moreover, seals are hunted because humans want to hunt them in the first place.

In addition, the so-called "Antarctic Convention" does not exist. There are only the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

But, brother, you didn't come to Antarctica just to study seals, did you? If the researchers really slapped the seal, then for other tourists and researchers who were unaware of the situation, and even for me who will continue to study seals in the future, the beaten seal would become a potential hazard - after all, not all seals will give in. If this is a seal that holds a grudge, even if it is still young, as long as it intends to, or when it grows up in the future, it may cause harm to humans.

In fact, it is unnecessary to use cruel methods to make seals remember the "evil" of humans in Antarctica, where human behavior is strictly controlled. These seals are not in danger of being hunted by humans , and they have little contact with humans. How can they be harmed because they trust humans too much?

Antarctic seals are not in danger of being hunted, and slapping them to protect them is a ridiculous practice that is completely unnecessary. | Brocken Inaglory / Wikimedia Commons

If researchers want to conduct in-depth research on animals or use animals to study their living environment, the best way is to coexist peacefully with animals without interfering , so that they can regard themselves as part of the environment; when faced with animals that actively approach them, they should not show any intimate response . If it is necessary to install scientific research equipment on these animals, it should be done in the fastest and least harmful way, so that the animals know that their contact is only temporary and will not bring adverse consequences.

A slap in the face or a beating could destroy the equal relationship that humans have established with wild animals in Antarctica.

Author: Meow Fish Sauce

Editor: Mai Mai

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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