Sunbaking seal an unlikely runway obstacle
We’re calling it, this is our favourite travel news story of the year.
A 200kg sunbaking seal made for an unlikely but utterly adorable obstacle on an Alaskan runway.
The merry mammal found itself right in the middle of the flightpath at the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport in Utqiagvik, Alaska, on Monday.
Speaking to ABC News, airport foreman Scott Babcock said, “It was very strange to see the seal. I’ve seen a lot of things on runways, but never a seal.”
Babcock added that while a seal wasn’t entirely unexpected, he was more used to “a small spotted seal, not a 450-pound Oogruk.”
Being that airport staff are not able to handle wild animals, Babcock had to bring in the authorities to move the seal.
Babcock caught the whole thing on tape, filming the seal casually catching some afternoon rays and then sharing it on Facebook.
The video, that you can watch here, has been viewed more than 150,000 times.
According to News.com, Alaska’s Department of Transportation & Public Facilities didn’t want to miss out on the fun, warning of “low sealings” at the airport — a pun on “low ceilings,” a term used to describe low clouds and poor visibility.
“This big guy decided to do a little wintertime sunbathing on the Barrow Airport runway yesterday. #alaskaproblems North Slope Borough Animal Control eventually removed the seal and air traffic was able to resume. Aircraft operators should continue to be aware of low sealings at our North Slope facilities,” they wrote.
North Slope Borough Animal Control came out to the airport and moved the seal using a heavy-duty snow blower and a sled.
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