OSWALD WAS ABSENT

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 92, 28 March 1941, Page 13

OSWALD WAS ABSENT

Tale Of An Unobliging Sea Elephant

tion of a sea elephant disporting himself on a popular beach is all very well when the sea elephant is there, but when the sea elephant has disappeared before the broadcast, certain difficulties are presented, and an announcer would be excused for looking worried. _ That is what happened in Dunedin the other day, when station 4ZB received word that a sea elephant 15 feet in length had taken up residence on St. Kilda Beach. In record time relay apparatus was set up in préparation for a 15-minute broadcast, and Jack Bremner and Don Donaldson were on"their way to the beach. (> aa: a broadcast descrip-

They found, however, that " Oswald," as the sea elephant had been christened, had put to sea again some minutes before their arrival, and not knowing how to charm him back, they had to think quickly. It was out of the question to cancel the relay, as announcements about it had been made over the air. However, the relay took place at the appointed time, thanks to the fact that 4ZB’s two announcers had had a chat with the curator of the Dunedin Museum before leaving town, and were able to pass on some interesting information about "Oswald" and his kind. They explained, for instance, that the nearest breeding ground of the sea elephant is at the Macquarie Islands, showing that they are capable of swimming vast distances. They gave a full account also of the differences between ordinary seals, sea lions and sea elephants. The result is that should another sea elephant ever visit Dunedin, many sightseers should know something about him.