Mummified seals!

From 2010-11-19 Hike to Parera

Seals periodically get lost and wander into the Dry Valleys from the sea ice. There is a stream named "Lost Seal Stream" in Taylor Valley because someone found a lost Weddell seal there in 1990 and it was rescued with a helicopter. Most lost seals aren't so lucky, and they can travel pretty far into the Dry Valleys before succumbing to exhaustion. It is very cold and dry and the seal carcasses are preserved pretty well. This picture is from near the Canada Glacier near Lake Fryxell about an hour hike from our camp. This location is probably a 4 or 5 hour hike from the sea ice for a person so this seal must have been very lost.