Researchers in New Zealand are hoping to find the rightful owner of a USB stick that was found in frozen seal poop from over a year ago, containing a video of playful sea lions.
Scientists with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) decided recently to thaw out some seal poo that was in a freezer for more than a year.
“The poo, known scientifically as scat and about the size of two bread rolls, is as good as gold for leopard seal researchers,” NIWA explained in a statement. “It can tell them what these Antarctic predators eat, a little bit about their health and how long they may have been in New Zealand waters.”
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Apparently the NIWA has a network of volunteers that walk around the country collecting scat, and the group sends the samples off to marine biologist Dr. Krista Hupman.
A local vet was out and about checking on the health of a skinny leopard seal that was resting on a beach, and she picked up some scat and sent it to Hupman, who then stored the poop in a freezer in November 2017.
About three weeks ago, volunteers thawed out the sample and discovered the memory stick, which was “in reasonably good condition considering where it had come from.”
They let the drive dry out for a couple of weeks before checking to see what information it contained.
“And, ironically, there are photos of sea lions at Porpoise Bay in the Caitlins and a video of a mom and baby sea lion frolicking in the shallows,” NIWA said. “The only clue to who might have taken them is the nose of a blue kayak.”
READ MORE: Don’t try to feed seals peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, officials warn
The video shows the curious sea lions swimming about and approaching the kayak before darting off.
The NIWA is offering to give the USB drive back to its rightful owner, but “it comes with a price.”
“The leopard seal researchers would like some more leopard seal scat please.”
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