RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Short, and dark, and young and tired, the seal on Ipanema was sunbathing…
The fur seal on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beach attracted a lot of attention from locals and tourists on Wednesday morning, but not for the same reasons as the famous ‘Girl from Ipanema’.
The animal is often seen along the Brazilian coast in winter and spring, but is rarely seen at this time of year, a few days before the start of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, said Suelen Santiago, a biologist who works at the company that keeps an eye on the beach. .
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“This year we are dealing with atypical situations,” she said.
Covered with tape and flags, the young male seal became the main attraction at one of the most famous beaches in the world. Among the curious onlookers was 29-year-old Jordana Halpern. She had never seen one like it before and rushed to the beach when she heard it had been spotted.
“It’s cool, but it’s also a little sad. It seems like things aren’t going so well,” Halpern said. Almost as if he heard her, the seal moved more energetically, raised its head and let out a soft sound. “Oh my God! It moved a lot!” Halpert said.
Santiago said they still don’t know why the animal ended up in Ipanema out of season, but wasn’t concerned: “It’s just resting. The animal is very active, so it is just resting, and soon it will return to the sea.”
