While we were photographing Northern Fur Seals from one of the observation blinds on Saint Paul Island, this seal stopped, raised its muzzle and sampled the air.
I’m fairly sure the wind had carried our scent.
The specially constructed blinds allow us to watch and photograph the seals without walking among them or disturbing the rookery. They conceal us remarkably well, but they don’t stop the wind from giving us away.
Can Northern Fur Seals smell?
Yes. Northern Fur Seals have a well-developed sense of smell, although hearing and vision are usually more obvious to anyone watching them around a busy rookery.
Studies of fur seals and other pinnipeds suggest that scent plays a role in recognizing individuals and gathering information about nearby animals. On a crowded breeding colony filled with movement, noise and thousands of seals, every available sense has value.
Looking at this photograph without knowing what happened, it would be easy to interpret the lifted muzzle, open mouth and visible teeth as aggression.
It wasn’t.
The seal remained calm as it tested the air, trying to locate the unfamiliar scent that had reached it. I had enough time to recognize what it was doing and make a few photographs before it carried on.
Photographing Northern Fur Seals on Saint Paul Island
Access to Northern Fur Seal rookeries is strictly controlled. On Saint Paul Island, we photograph from authorized observation blinds positioned to provide excellent views while keeping people out of the colony.
That controlled access is essential. A disturbed seal can rush into the rookery and cause panic among nearby animals, placing small pups at risk.
The blinds also give us the chance to watch natural behaviour unfold. There are territorial males, females returning from the sea, nursing pups, young seals playing and individuals resting only a short distance away. Sometimes the most interesting photograph comes from a small gesture, such as a seal pausing to investigate a scent on the wind.
Saint Paul Island is one of very few places where visiting photographers can reliably photograph wild Northern Fur Seals at an active rookery from purpose-built observation blinds.
What the photograph does not tell you
A still photograph removes everything that happened immediately before and after the shutter was released.
This seal was not challenging me or reacting aggressively. It was scenting the air, and our position in the blind happened to be upwind.
Knowing what I was watching made all the difference. Instead of concentrating only on the open mouth and visible teeth, I waited for the raised muzzle and direct head position that best described the behaviour.
Join me on Saint Paul Island
If photographing Northern Fur Seals from these observation blinds—along with Tufted and Horned Puffins, Crested Auklets, Red-faced Cormorants, Arctic Foxes and the rest of Saint Paul Island’s remarkable wildlife—sounds like your kind of trip, join me for seven full days of photography in the Pribilof Islands.
My July 1–8, 2027 Saint Paul Island Wildlife Photography Workshop has only one place remaining. The July 2–9, 2028 workshop has also been announced.