The summer sun was already high in the sky when Atom began to open his eyes. Slowly, the different sounds of the beach and its rookery came to his ears, the chatting of the seals nearby, the seagulls’ shrill cries, the soft sounds of the waves. Finally, Atom woke up, letting out a tiny yawn and the first thing he felt waking up was the comforting warmth of his father close to him. As soon as he was awake, he felt his dad’s large flipper caressing him, a tender good morning.
“ Did you sleep well ?” his dad asked, his big snout softly touching Atom’s face.
“Yes…. But the day already began, I slept too muchm hm”Atom grumbled, a cute sound.
Tenma laughed “Don’t you know ? Sleeping helps you growing, especially for a little thing like you.” His big snout found Atom’s little one and they kissed, appreciating each other scent, daily recognition of their bond.
Tenma’s flipper then beckoned the pup towards his tits and Atom realized he was quite hungry. Following his dad’s flipper and the faint scent of milk, the pup galumphed on the sand awkwardly towards the teats and began to suck on one, pleasant rich buttery taste filling his mouth. His dad’s breastmilk was so delicious, a way better breakfast than fishes and Atom loves fishes ! He kept on suckling for a little while, his father still caressing him from the tip of his flipper.
As he suckled, Atom’s eyes wandered around. Today was a very sunny day. The beach got such bright colors and the sea sparkled, beckoning the young pup into its clear water. After having his little belly full of milk, the pup was quick to waddle toward the inviting waters.
“Atom, not so quick ! And don’t swim too far !” His dad called him from behind, dragging his impressive huge body through the sand to join Atom.
“Ok dad, I will !” Atom said before diving in, letting the small waves bringing him into the waters.
His dad was so protective. He always tell Atom that the sea is full of dangers and that it’s easy to come across a predator or get lost in the open sea. But the rookery and its beach always felt safe to Atom. It was his home. Humans sometimes came close, watching them from afar behind the dunes and rocks but the humans never caused trouble as far as Atom knew. But his dad always told him human were more dangerous than any predators ; Atom always listened to his dad but he still didn’t quite understand how humans can be such a threat to them.
But for now, not a single thoughts about predators clouded the little pup’s mind. Underwater, the sea was beautiful and endless, welcoming Atom further in, making him move his flippers with excitement. He swam near the rookery but the underwater was mostly empty, not other fellow seals in sight. With such a warm and sunny day like this, most of the seals surely took advantage of this weather and its cloudless sky to spend the day sunbathing.
Sunbathing sounded great but today Atom just wanted to swim ! He had so much fun looking at the different little fishes swimming alongside him, they colored the water with such pretty colors ! Atom loved to go a bit deeper to admire the little critters hidden in submerged rocks. The crabs were his favorite, their way of walking is so funny ! He also loved playing with the underwater plants, pulling them or hiding in a forest of seaweeds like he does so often, to the great exasperation of his father.
The sea was just full of unending discoveries for the curious little seal pup ! He was so young and there were so much wonders to see, so much to explore. His little fluffy body was full of excitement and his flippers brought him farther until he heard a rough call behind him.
“Atom ! What did I say ??”
He turned and saw his dad not too far behind. He swam slowly but very elegantly, not unlike the whales they could see sometimes far in the open sea. He looked displeased but it didn’t dampen the pup’s enthusiasm.
“I won’t go too far, I promise !”
Atom was just so excited, he swam ahead at full speed. He was little but already so fast ! His dad doesn’t need to worry, he won’t go to the open sea, it’s all safe here. Atom swam and swam until he came out to the surface for a bit, filling his lungs with much needed air, feeling the direct warm of the sun. What a good day !
Suddenly, he heard a noise, unlike anything he heard before. It was loud…like a storm ? But not quite… it sounded somewhat rougher and… close. Really close. The pup turned around and saw a strange big thing coming at him. Fast.
Atom sensed the danger and began to panic. He tried to swam away but the strange animal was coming to him way too fast. Was it a predator? He never saw one swimming in such unbelievable speed. Atom was so confused and he began to cry out as he helplessly moved his flippers as fast as he could.
“Dad, help !!”
The predator came dangerously closer and closer, until Atom heard a sound like a huge crash. It was his father who went to stop the predator from catching Atom. The strange beast pushed against his dad, getting louder, the water boiling around it.
Atom was petrified. Never once fear took hold of his little heart like this. Never once he saw his father in such a frightening situation.
“Dad ! “
“ Swim away ! Just go, now !”Tenma shouted, facing the beast, face crunching in pain.
“But !”
“GO !” Tenma roared.
Atom obeyed even tho he felt his heart breaking as he swam away, as fast as he could, eyes full of tears getting lost into the water. His dad was strong, the strongest bull of the beach but could he handle such a weird and terrifying predator ? He won’t… he won’t get eaten right ??
Atom was frankly bawling now “ Dad please be safe ! Dad !” He cried but still he continued to swim until he reached a specific spot on the beach, hidden away by rocks, invisible to the other residents of the beach. The place his dad always told him to go to in case there’s trouble.
He flopped on the sand, panting, without much strength left. Still, he looked back at the sea, crying out for his dad. He couldn’t see him but he could see the predator in full view even for afar. It got a white, long shape but it didn’t look like an orca or any predators Atom knew. Weirdly enough, it seems there was something on its back, several things even, moving… Atom squinted and… they looked like humans ? They were moving around, jumping into the water… were they preys of the monster too ? It didn’t make much sense and Atom was too worried for his dad to think more deeply about it.
After minutes that felt like forever, Atom caught up the sight of a most familiar shape emerging from the water.
“Dad !!” Atom galumphed quickly to his side, searching for his snout to touch, to reassure. His dad looked exhausted and Atom looked over him, and saw a gash on his father’s body, leaking deep red.
“Atom !” Tenma cried, relief shown brightly in his tired eyes. “ Are you oka… »
“Dad, you’re bleeding !!” Atom came quickly closer to the wound. It seemed so big to the tiny pup’s eyes and it seemed so painful, just looking at it made his heart hurt even more.
Atom began to frantically licking it, tears forming anew in the corner of his eyes. It didn’t care for the taste of blood overwhelming his tongue, he had to make his dad feel better, he had to help him !
“Atom, you don’t need to do that, I’m fine…”
Atom didn’t even respond, just keept on licking and licking, wanting to lick the hurt, the fear away. He felt his father moving slightly, his big snout falling on Atom’s back, stroking softly his white fur.
“It’s okay, we’re both safe…
Atom finally stopped licking. “Dad… I’m so sorry !”The pup broke down crying, tears falling heavy on the sand. Tenma kept on caressing him, gestures full of love and reassurance.
“Hush…everything is fine now.”
——
They spent the remaining day in the same spot, their refuge hidden from all. Atom still was set on licking his father’s wound several times, Tenma trying to stop him each time, reassuring him that the wound is not that deep and will heal quickly. Then Atom wanted to go hunt some fishes for his dad so he can recover his strength but again his dad stopped him.
“I just need to rest a bit.” Tenma said “With you by my side…” his dad’s voice was now a murmur, showing an uncharacteristic vulnerability. “ I will be fine..” His dad finished, softness in his voice. Atom gave him plenty of snout kisses, promising to always stay with him, but the little pup wanted to do so much more, he felt so hopeless, what happened was all his fault…
“I’m sorry… “ Once again, the guilt the pup felt was too much and he began to cry.
His dad’s snout caressed him back, wiping the tears away “Shh you have nothing to apologize…I always tell you, the sea is full of dangers… It happens more often than you may think. ”
Atom sniffed “ I don’t understand…what was this strange beast, father ? Was it a predator ? And I saw humans on the top of it … why ?”
Tenma let out a snort, as if speaking about it was distasteful to him. “ It was a boat, something human made to navigate the sea… there’s all kind of shapes and size but they’re all dangerous…”
“They… made it ? Like the nests the birds build for their young ?”
“Hmm not quite. They do take pieces from the nature to create new things like birds but what the human makes have all the potential to hurt and kill you. Human are the most dangerous predator of all, do not forget it.”
Atom gulped, conflicted. He never saw the human as danger despite what his father said, they seemed nice and always stayed far away from them but if they can do such things, create sometime that can hurt his dad that way then…Atom believes his dad now and won’t do the same mistake again.
Tenma looked at Atom “ You did well back then, you swam away really fast. But do not hesitate next time, do not wait for me.”
Atom wasn’t sure he could do that but still he nodded. Tenma brought his big flippers around him, nesting him the little pup to his side.
“Sleep now. “
Atom wanted to object but being so close against his father felt so nice and the warmth lulled him quickly to sleep.
—
Several days passed and Atom was beyond relieved to see his father doing so much better. His wound was closed and all healed ! Atom still licked it sometimes, it became a sort of habit which makes Tenma chuckle, touched by the pup’s loving gesture. Atom also became a bit more fearful when swimming, a bit more cautious, rarely leaving his father’s side now, the memory of this terrifying “boat” still fresh in his mind.
It was such a scary experience but Atom was thankful that this day didn’t end in tragedy.
——
[extract article from the Metrocity news]
Tragedy at sea : boat attacked by a seal, one dead and severals injured.
Yesterday, a tragic accident shocked the Seaside town, touristic spot well known for his beach and its colony of seals.
A group of tourists had rented a boat and navigated into the waters close to the seals rookery, going beyond a zone expressly forbidden by the local authorities.
According to the witnesses, the boat hit a huge mass which revealed to be a southern elephant seal bull who crashed into the boat. The boat broke down with the people inside falling into the water. They were shortly recovered by a rescue team, but one of them sadly passed away from drowning and several others were seriously wounded.
It appeared the bull didn’t just destroy the boat but deliberately kept on attacking the tourists and only went away after the arrival of the rescue team boat.
Dr Ochanomizu, famous oceanographic researcher and director of the seaside rehabilitation center spoke about the matter, offering an explanation for this concerning behavior.
“It’s truly tragic what happened” Dr Ochanomizu said “ but I have to warn people once again to follow the town rules and to not get too close of the seals rookery. In particularly on boats that can bump into passing seals, wounding them. The rehabilitation team has to take care of a lot of specimens who were injured because of such human activities and we want to keep their numbers as low as possible. “
To the question : “Is that kind of agressive behavior usual for seals ? “ Dr Ochanomizu answers :
“Not only seals can get aggressive when in contact with human but male elephant seals especially are extremely territorial and can attack perceived threat with great insistence as we unfortunately saw. This behavior may appear shocking but it’s not usual from such bulls. So please, I ask everyone coming at the beach to be careful, for the seals’ safety and yours.“
