Well...just when you think its safe to go back in the water again (or in my case, not refer to my previous attempts at humor via a vis the Codeine induced rant about mother nature's conspiracy to weed out weak, weekend paddlers), along comes a front page news paper article in the Victoria Times/Colonist. It would seem to bear witness to my "theory". Apparently, a "demented" seal has been targeting paddlers off Texada Island in the Canadian Northern Gulf Islands. The rogue seal is leaping into open boats and has gone so far as to upset and capsize a kayaker, and chased another to shore. One little girl in a row boat had the seal wrap its flippers right around her, as it began attacking her face. The father had to smash it with an oar and then pry it off. Other attacks are being reported. In one incident, the seal dove up into a Zodiac, and snapped a child by the wrist, nabbing her watch as an adult pulled the child away. The local newspaper in the area, the "Powell River Peak", reported about another kayaker who was chased out of the water, boat and all. The female paddler then described how the seal bit her kayak and left teeth marks in the hull as she abandoned it to nearby rocks. Since the panicky paddler was a born-again Christian, she prayed for the lord's help. She stated there was an aggression in those black eyes. A Dept. of Fisheries official said it was probably all due to the huge number of Orcas that have come through the Strait of Georgia this year, including a high number of transient Orcas. He said a seal knows the difference, and transient Orcas really put the "fear of Christ" into a seal. The investigation continues. Hey, I don't make this stuff up guys. I just predict it before it happens. Jackie, watch out for your Westie in the back hatch. You really just don't know what dangers lurk out there, just below the surface of the water..."duhhhhh dum, duhhhhhh dum, duhhhh dum" (Jaws theme). :-) Check this out below, if you don't believe me. It's a shortened version of the newspaper article: http://www2.mybc.com/bc/news/fs.cfm?id=492267 BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd (who got rid of all the giant clams from his house, finally - and Codeine) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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