avatarUlf Wolf

Summary

The article "Seal Song" describes the author's experience with the harmonious sounds of seals near Castle Rock, emphasizing the beauty of their natural chorus.

Abstract

The "Seal Song" article captures the author's encounters with the vocalizations of seals at Castle Rock, a small rock mountain off the shore that hosts a multitude of birds and seals. The seals, with their unique timbres and pitches, create a soundscape that ranges from cacophonous to harmonious. The author reflects on the seals' seemingly orchestrated harmonies, likening their collective vocalizations to a symphony that rises in pure expression of their essence. This natural phenomenon is presented as a consistently present and beautiful aspect of the environment, with the seals never failing to vocalize, each sound distinct and recognizable, even amidst the chaos of their collective voices.

Opinions

  • The author perceives the seals' vocalizations as a form of music, describing their sounds as "hundred-part harmonies" and a "seal symphony."
  • There is a sense of wonder and appreciation for the seals' ability to produce a range of sounds, from discordant to harmonious.
  • The author suggests that each seal's voice is unique and potentially recognizable to their seal-mother, hinting at a deeper level of communication and recognition among the seals.
  • The article conveys a poetic and anthropomorphic view of the seals, assigning them a deliberate and artistic approach to their vocalizations.
  • The beauty of the seals' collective singing is highlighted as a notable and enchanting occurrence, particularly when they sing in harmony.

Seal Song

In Hundred-Part Harmony

Photo by Fábio Hanashiro on Unsplash

Distant seals bark their hundred-part harmonies

While some days are noisier than others, some quieter than others, I’ve never walked past Castle Rock to find it altogether silent.

Castle Rock is a small rock mountain, out there, nearly a mile from shore, home to a hundred thousand birds (fact) and (seemingly, though they’re probably only in the hundreds) as many seals, none of whom have ever looked up the words “shut up”.

To venture a sealestial (sorry, I could not help myself) guess: each seal is assigned its very own, precise timbre and pitch by their maker — recognized I’m sure, even in the cacophony of seal free-for-all, by seal-mother, if not by anyone else.

Every now and then, though, like this morning, the normally strident, clashing chords struck by a few hundred seals find some deeper harmony among them and actually sing true — pure seal soul rising.

Seal symphony.

And this is so beautiful.

© Wolfstuff

Seals
Seal Barik
Seal Song
Harmony
Wolfku Musing
Recommended from ReadMedium