In an odd twist of fate, scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand have found a USB stick frozen deep inside a year-old slab of poo from leopard seals. The contents of the USB? Various videos of seals.
Scientists were surprised to see the USB (which they had to dry out for a couple of weeks), but they were even more surprised to see that it contained “photos of sea lions at Porpoise Bay on New Zealand’s South Island, and a video of a mother sea lion and her baby frolicking in shallow waters,” as reported by ABC News.
Nobody has any idea who could possibly own the USB, except the scientists are pretty sure that the owner has ridden a blue kayak before– one of the videos show the nose of a blue kayak as the owner captured the images and videos of the seals.
A NIWA volunteer named Jodie Warren expressed some concern, however, for the animal that ingested the USB. “It is very worrying that these amazing Antarctic animals have plastic like this inside them,” Warren says. “The more we can find out about these creatures, the more we can ensure they are looked after.”
