'Enormous' Bossie is boss of the beach

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - "His path through the bushes looks as if a hurricane passed by."

This is how Val Marsh, a committee member of the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.), describes the movement of an adult male elephant seal that appeared in Mossel Bay on Tuesday, 10 June.

Aptly named Bossie, after his hiding place in bushes between Bay View and Dias beaches, the giant marine mammal has been closely monitored by S.M.A.R.T. since his arrival.

Described by Marsh as "enormous", Bossie has been relaxing on the shore since 10 June.

"In the 10 years I've been with S.M.A.R.T., this is the largest elephant seal I've come across," she says.

Marsh told Mossel Bay Advertiser that when she received a call about the seal, spotted by a member of the public, she thought it was a prank at first. She says it has been amazing to see how he's flattened the dense bushes, where he has been lying.

Although Bossie's exact age is unknown, his yellow teeth and noticeably bony head indicate that he is quite an old elephant seal bull.

Bossie received his first rabies vaccination on Wednesday morning to help protect him from the rabies virus currently present in Cape fur seals near Seal Island, offshore of Mossel Bay.

S.M.A.R.T. was also alerted about Columbo, another elephant seal and frequent visitor to the Garden Route, who appeared at Victoria Bay 10 days ago. Columbo is tagged and has a mark on one eye, so he is easily identified.