The survived regardless of getting eaten, after which frozen in a lab. New Zealand’s Nationwide Institute of Water and Atmospheric Analysis is now searching for the proprietor of the drive by posting video and photograph recovered from the USB drive.
February 5, 2019 5:20PM EST
February 5, 2019
UPDATE 2/7/19: The proprietor of the USB drive has been discovered. You possibly can learn extra about it right here.
Authentic story:
Apparently, USB thumb drives can survive getting eaten by a seal.
Scientists in New Zealand say they uncovered a still-functioning USB stick from some animal seal poop final month. The nation’s Nationwide Institute of Water and Atmospheric Analysis is now searching for the proprietor of the drive by posting video and photograph recovered from the USB drive.
NIWA is trying to find the proprietor of a USB stick discovered within the poo of a leopard seal…
Recognise this video? Scientists analysing the scat of leopard seals have come throughout an surprising discovery – a USB stick filled with pictures & nonetheless in working order! https://t.co/2SZVkm5az4 pic.twitter.com/JLEC8vuHH0
— NIWA (@niwa_nz) February 5, 2019
The seal poop was really picked up again in Nov. 2017, when an area veterinarian was investigating the well being of a leopard seal on the island’s Porpoise Bay.
“The poo, identified scientifically as scat and concerning the dimension of two bread rolls, is nearly as good as gold for leopard seal researchers,” the institute mentioned in a press launch. “It might probably inform them what these Antarctic predators eat, a bit of bit about their well being and the way lengthy they could have been in New Zealand waters.”
The pattern in query was then despatched again to the lab for examine, the place it was frozen for greater than 12 months. It was solely till three weeks in the past when volunteers on the institute defrosted the poop and started analyzing it. That is once they found the USB stick, which was present in “fairly good situation.” The volunteers then let the dry for a pair weeks earlier than popping it into a pc to view the contents.
Paradoxically, the USB drive contained pictures and a video of sea lions on a New Zealand seashore positioned about an hour away from the place the seal poop was initially discovered. The institute is now providing to return the USB follow its proprietor, however for a worth: They need extra seal poop.
“The extra we are able to discover out about these creatures, the extra we are able to guarantee they’re taken care of,” the institute mentioned.
Though it is outstanding the USB stick survived the ordeal, it is however a nasty signal for the seals and their atmosphere. “It is extremely worrying that these superb Antarctic animals have plastic like this inside them,” the volunteer Jodie Warren mentioned within the press launch.
The invention is a tragic reminder that animals usually find yourself consuming the digital junk that people dump in landfills and in oceans. Customers who’ve outdated mendacity round ought to take into account recycling responsibly.
