At Macquarie, the story unfolds,
Of a sea lion both daring and bold.
He broke into our space,
Made the courtyard his base,
And his antics leave tales to be told.
By day, he reclines with such grace,
At night, he turns stealth into chase.
With a bark and a lunge,
He’ll make your heart plunge,
As you scramble to quicken your pace.
At 11, our shifts finally cease,
But the isthmus walk offers no peace.
With dim lights to guide,
And the wind at our side,
We fear he might stalk his next feast.
From windows, we spy for his lair,
But the lion’s not one to play fair.
He moves in the night,
Out of sight, out of light,
Leaving all of us frozen with care.
The station hides out in dismay,
As the lion makes all humans prey.
We dart, duck, and creep,
Praying he’s fast asleep,
While he charges for fun and dismay!
Adam Schiefelbein, BoM Met Tech
Side note: We call him Bruce, the sea lion who visits station fairly regularly and can cause chaos and confusion during his time ashore. He climbs the fence into the station precinct, which houses all the expeditioners, and wants to find a quiet space to rest up from his latest hunting foray into the Southern Ocean. Unfortunately, he is also known to like to chase an expeditioner (never known to have caught one), whether it's a game or to extert his authority we're not really sure. But it can certainly be intimidating. We are entertained during his visits by contact public service annoucements of his latest resting location (as he does like to spring a surprise on unsuspecting residents). His latest visit was just this week. And, hence Adam's ode - the saga of a sea lion - and a collection of photos of his latest resting locations. Enjoy meeting Bruce (from the safety of your homes!), just one of the amazing things about living with the wildlife on Macquarie Island.
Bec Jeffcoat, Station Leader