This may seem a little bit like a silly thing. It’s not to me. I found out yesterday that a Sea Lion named Woody passed away. Woody was born in captivity and brought to the Alaska Sea Life Center when he was 5 years old. He died at 22 is which is much older then most Sea Lions in the wild.
A little background. I grew up in Seward, Alaska. I remember my Dad bringing home brochures about the proposed Sea Life Center. I remember being so excited at the prospect of such an amazing place being in my tiny little town. As I grew and watched the Sea Life Center become a reality I slowly fell in love with the place. As a teenager I worked on tour boats taking visitors to see the glaciers, whales, puffin, sea lions and so much more. Every day I grew more and more in love with the animals, the place, and the enormous beauty of it all. I learned about the animals and was so grateful for the Sea Life Center. Not only is it a super cool place to say the least but the research and rehabilitation they do there is incredible.
I remember when Woody came to Seward. It was fun a big event (at least to me). I must have been 16 ish. I was such a sentimental lover of the animals and especially that guy. I don’t know what it was. I could never explain. In my photography class in high school my Jr. year we were given an assignment to make an album (CD) cover. I photographed Woody swimming and used that as my B&W image for my “band”.
As a Senior in high school I volunteered at the Sea Life Center. I got to wear these incredibly atrocious rain boots and rain gear and help clean the Bird actuary and even got to feed the puffins! I don’t know how many high schoolers would volunteer and be so excited about something like that but I loved it!
Now that I live in Upstate New York near Lake George I don’t get back to Seward often enough. But these things were a part of my growing up, a part of me, a part of who I became. I’m trying not to be silly but I wish I could have seen Woody one last time. I will miss you.
Here is a link to an article about Woody and his passing.
And what would a post be without pictures. I’m no wildlife or nature photographer and these are from a very long time ago but these are a few of my favorite things!
Leave a Reply