Codes of Survival -Scripts - a series of short factionalized stories based
on historical events in the Subantarctic Islands written by Lloyd Godman
to accompany the exhibition and installation - 1993 - © Lloyd Godman
Codes of
Survival - Scripts
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2000 - Branded
Even in the high summer of January, I have seen the weather
turn to shit. Amid the blaze of red rata blossom and the call of the sub antarctic parakeets, rage days of winds, squalls, hail and more
of the same for weeks and weeks. Seems such a bizarre contrast. But so far, since we have begun work anyway, it has not been too bad. In fact sometimes it has been quite warm and despite the insects we have often had to strip off and work in tee shirts as we
engaged in the Branding Program.
Although we worked as a team, it took some time to anaesthetize each of the sea lions, then set up the right banding irons heat
them up and burn an impression onto the side of the animals.
We also had to record as many details about each animal as we could to form an accurate data base for the future. Some of this material had already been collected and we could associate it to
any of the sea lions that still had the plastic tags on their fins. So
for these animals it was an opportunity to update the old information. It does not actually hurt the animal but in 3 to
5 second just burns off the hair follicles to create a recognizable number on their side. There is quite a distinctive smell associated with the burning that even over rides the strong smell of the sea lions.
We have slowly worked our way up to animal 169 and estimate there are around another 280 or so to do. Like the weather and
the environment it seems a contradiction to be branding the sea
lions in this manner, but with such a threatened species it's
essential that there is an effective method of identification. Even with the best of intentions many sea lions are caught in
fishing nets and die, there are also operators who don't give a dam, and then there is also evidence to suggest a few are
indiscriminately shot at sea by unsympathetic fishermen, then
left to wash up on some isolated beach. And then there is the
mysterious deaths where many pups die in a short time for no apparent reason.
There had been problems with other identification methods,
tagging and trasponder chips had their problems that ment they were not permanent and could not be totality relied on. These more traditional methods would leave us with information about an
animal that we could not identify or even know if it was still alive. This branding idea had come from a Californian based initiative where they had branded the young sea lions as a means of permanent identification. It's part of the need to learn more about
individual sea lions to build a knowledge base about the biology
and population dynamics of the species. Ultimately this
knowledge will benefit the animals and give a more
accurate picture of their social structure.
After each full days work, we were quite tired and all slept well secure in the shelter of the hut. There was a roster to cook the
meals and wash the dreaded dishes, so we had a variety of meals each day. Although they are quite small,
they are comfortable and provide enough space for all of us,
so we have not had to use the tents. We have set up a wash area
some-way off in the bush to afford some privacy. The shower is
a strange arrangement where a hose is placed into a bucket of hot
water and run through a treading unit to a shower head above.
It is a weird feeling standing naked in the forest and treading on
the unit to pump the water up to the head, but it does work effectively. It can be an art to time it so you have finished
rinsing off before the water runs out.
There is quite a history attached to these huts now and you could feel this in the atmosphere. Scientific expeditions I had read about when I had researched my thesis had used this shelter for their projects many years before. Martain Carthorn who had been involved with the sea lions for years had used the facility
many times in the past. DOC people had used them on and off,
and the shooters who cleaned the islands up of introduced
species.
There is also a skill in moving around the colony without
disturbing the animals unduly or stirring up the sleeping bull sea lions. Although all the animals have to be dealt with it, pays to
pick a specific path through the colony that allows a gentle
means of completing the task. During one afternoon, sitting on the round rocks I found a plastic
tag lost from one animal, but as I reached to grasp it, it skidded
off an under the gap between the boulders. As much as
we tried to find it it worked its way deeper and deeper between the cracks.
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