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Popeye is the name of a female harbor seal that was declared the official seal of the Port of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington. She has not been seen since the late 2010s, and has presumably died of natural causes.[1]
Biography edit
Popeye began frequently visiting the Friday Harbor marina around 1995, and soon became a well-known local figure; the name was derived from her conspicuously white and cloudy left eye. In 2005, the Port of Friday Harbor named her the port's official seal and commissioned a granite sculpture of her, which to this day stands in Fairweather Park adjacent to the Marina.[2] On August 1, 2017, Popeye attracted media attention when she bit a visiting tourist, which was reported as the only recorded incident of a harbor seal ever attacking a human; then-Port of Friday Harbor executive director Todd Nicholson chalked up the incident to her frustration at not being given food by visitors to the same extent as earlier. Feeding wildlife in Washington is illegal under state law.[3] She has not been seen since: as female harbor seals only live to the age of 25–35 years, this is presumably due to a natural death.[1]
Gallery edit
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Popeye in 2005 -
Statue of Popeye in Fairweather Park, Friday Harbor
References edit
- ^ a b "Harbor Seal".
- ^ "Popeye the Harbor Seal | San Juan Islands Washington Visitors Bureau | Orcas Island | Lopez Island | Friday Harbor | San Juan Island". Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
- ^ "Celebrity harbor seal bites boater in Friday Harbor". 14 August 2017.