450-Pound Seal Removed From Alaska Airport Runway

It's the weekend and I was scanning the internet for some light reading.

Quote of the day.

The state Department of Transportation got in on the fun by warning pilots of "low sealings" at the airport.

Yep...still chuckling.



Funny you should ask, why YES there is video!


Birds and aircraft are no joke, but this besides being unusual was just too neat. The guys on the video were totally relaxed and pretty blasé about it even going so far as mentioning if they can't shift the seal they'd just go with a mail drop.

Guessing some of you have seen some bizarre stuff while landing and take-off? Love to hear about it!

www.cbc.ca...

Seal was not harmed in the removal. Altho I never thought snow blower and seal would ever be used in the same sentence?

North Slope Borough Animal Control came out to the airport and moved the seal using a heavy-duty snow blower and a sled.

Babcock said that at small, rural airports like Wiley Post-Will Rogers, staff "wear every hat" and take care of tasks from security to snow removal, which was what he was doing when he spotted the seal.

abcnews.go.com...

a reply to: Caver78

My father was stationed in Maine during Vietnam. Because of Vietnam, all the guys on the ramp were required to carry a .38 pistol. One day they launched a flight of B-52s on a mission. One of the aircraft called back that their tail gunner shot a bear on the runway.

A group of crew chiefs hopped into a truck and drove out to see it. They were standing around it, and laying there it came up to the chest of the guys standing there. One of the crew chiefs looked at it for a long minute, pulled out the pistol he had on his hip, looked at it, looked at the bear, looked up at the other guys, and went "Oh hell no".

You didn't mention which airport this was at!

Utqiagvik Airport

Even I do not know how to pronounce that one!!

450 lbs of light reading!

I wonder Animal Control is running around calling themselves a "Seal Team"!!

a reply to: Caver78

Hater.

a reply to: Caver78

Global warming.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I was SO hoping the jokes would kick in!

And Bear Stew for everyone!!!

a reply to: Caver78

I see Kim Jong Un is visiting Alaska!

a reply to: Caver78


I lol'd at the seal's face, it's like he purposely covered his face in snow to try and hide....(they cant see me, they cant see me!!!)

a reply to: Caver78

Read the title,and thought to myself,dammmmmnnnn the elite special ops team in America isn't what it used to be

a reply to: wildapache

I know right!???

a reply to: Vector99

He's a "looker" fer sure!
Guessing the asphalt was all warm an comfy, except for all the attention. Turns out Bearded Seals are endangered so very cool the guys at the airport busted out the cameras!

www.nmfs.noaa.gov...

I know a few Eskimo's that will take it off their hands.....

Seals should not be on the runway, they do not run.

poor thing

When I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath I got sent up to RAF Leuchars in Scotland for an exercise for a few weeks. I can't remember exactly what it was but they had a problem with some kind of mollusk I think crawling up onto the runway that could cause serious damage to aircraft that hit them. They went down the end of the runway to remove them on a regular basis.

All kinds of crazy stuff can damage aircraft.

By the way the Scottish people were super friendly

Bush chook

poor thing. glad there was a happy resolution.

good job it wasn't this monster;

The other seal deterrent are "seal bombs". Think of them like a big M-80. They are built the same (waterproof) and make a very loud bang.

My buddy sets one or two off each New Years Eve. He has an ATF cert to own them. They are used when fishing to keep seals from hauling in your catch.