Sammy the Sea Lion and the
Big Oil Spill
by Kim
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Mr. Edwards and Caitlin just got
on their boat. Caitlin and her father, the zoologist, Mr. Edwards, go in a boat or walk
along the shore to study sea lions everyday. The Near Islands, one of the four groups of
the Aleutian Islands, in Alaska, is where Caitlin lives with her father. They came to the
Near Island to study sea lions and their habitat. Caitlin and her father live in a wood
frame house over looking a small cove. Mr. Edwards and Caitlin take notes and pictures of
the sea lions. One of the facts they found is sea lions use their whiskers to detect prey.
Caitlin's favorite part of studing the sea lions is watching them horseplay. They like to
jump on each others backs.
One morning, Caitlin spotted a new pup sunning himself on a rock. Soon his mother appears with salmon to feed her young. The mother's name is Alice and she is very friendly, kind and loving. She always cares for her young. Caitlin names the new pup Sammy. Sammy has a white and gray face and is the smallest one. That is how Caitlin tells him apart from the other sea lions.
Sammy yelped and cried. There must be a storm coming thought Caitlin. Sammy only acts like that when a storm is on its way. That night there is high winds. The wind was whistling through the air, and the waves were the highest. Sammy was right, there is a storm coming!
Mr. Edwards put on a warm fire. Caitlin was extremely worried about how the sea lions were going to keep warm. Her father explained that they have a thick fur to stay warm. He also said they snuggle up in their cave. Caitlin remembered the cave is the length of a football field.
Off the coast, there is an oil field. An oil tanker just filled up the tank with oil and was heading out to sea. The oil tanker was out at sea when the captain hears about the storm, but he can’t turn back because it would be to windy and risky to turn back. He crashes and all the oil spills out. It smelled dreadful! The oil is heading toward the sea lions. Mr. Edwards hears about it on the radio and tells Caitlin.
Maybe the sea lions can swim away from the oil; they can swim 17 miles per hour! Mr. Edwards and Caitlin call all over town for help. All of a sudden, helicopters start coming and planting buoys. The oil gets blocked off and it doesn’t hit the sea lions after all.
Caitlin and her father are very excited, but another oil tanker just filled its tank with oil and is heading out to sea.