Walkman's story is made even more compelling through the video he has shot of himself interacting with the seals. On one day he is seen beating off a killer whale with a pole as it attempts to catch seals, a staple of the killer whale diet. The next day he is seen trying to feed fish to the baby seals, as adult seals nervously circle him, barking and pounding their tails on the ice in their attempts to protect their babies.

The camera captures a man obsessed with a mission, yet his motivation seems to be a blurred mixture of altruism and selfishness. His mood varies between elation and despair, and his rants against humanity for its uncaring use of baby seal pelts for fur seem, at times, strangely self-serving.

The video that Walkman has gathered of the seals presents an unnerving juxtaposition of the baby seals' cuteness with a life that is filled with danger on a daily basis. Sharks, polar bears, and killer whales are always on the hunt for the seals, and Walkman is often seen placing himself in between the hunter and the hunted. He is a self-appointed guardian, risking his life as he interrupts the natural course of nature.

The recent discovery of Walkman's body by some fishermen, beaten to death in his sleep, was met with widespread suspicion that seal hunters had taken matters into their own hands. But an investigation by Labrador provincial police has now revealed that blood samples taken from the tails of several adult seals match Walkman's blood.

The tragic death of Walkman is now believed to be the result of an attack by the adult seals, probably in the middle of the night while Walkman was trapped in his sleeping bag. The adult seals instinctive protectiveness over their pups was a force that Mr. Walkman could not overcome. Despite his near-fanatical care for their welfare, the seals role in the natural order of things was not to be interrupted.

Life for the seals will now go on as it had before, a life filled with danger, whether from sharks, killer whales, and polar bears, or from the men who arrive each year to club the young seals for their fur.

History will have to judge whether William Walkman was a champion of animal rights, or a lost soul who was just trying to restore some meaning in his lonely, tortured life… or, just maybe, some of both.

Submitted on 07/29/2006

Submitted by: barry
Reference: http://www.ecoenquirer.com/bab

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
This is one of those "descent into madness" stories which, strictly speaking, may not follow our rules to the letter but which display stupidity and misplaced attention SO well they may as well win a DA! I will let Darwin decide if this is worth sharing with the readers (it isn't archived), but for the record I like it! His death by seal-slap is quite cartoony! I'm surprised the killer whales didn't get him first!

Fitzroy said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
The media reference didn't check out for me, but I think http://www.ecoenquirer.com/baby-seal-man.htm will go to the intended destination. This is a tricky one, but it has so much potential I too want to see what Darwin thinks of it.

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