STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
PREV
Capturing a seal, a moment | Oct. 2
After sneaking up at high speed in a rubber Zodiac boat, Shawn Dahle from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle nets a female ribbon seal staying with her pup to the very last moment before bolting into the Bering Sea. The seals, which give birth on the ice floes, are being tagged so scientists can study how shrinking floes are affecting them.
As we approached the ice floe at full speed with our heads down in three Zodiacs, my heart was pounding with anticipation. Shawn and two other scientists leapt onto the ice. I leapt forward inside the moving boat but didn't make the ice because Shawn was already quickly netting the seals. The action lasted about 1 second — five frames' worth with a motor drive — then it was over. Luckily, I caught the decisive moment fumbling around inside that boat.