Minazo and His Bucket

Minazo the seal and his famous blue bucket

I admit I was slightly obsessed after coming across E.T the talented Walrus in my previous post, I also found the above photo, featuring Minazo the Southern Elephant Seal and his famous blue bucket.

At first I couldn't believe what I saw and thought this must be the result of Photoshopping but I managed to find more information - Minazo lived and performed for a decade in an aquarium near Tokyo but sadly passed away in 2005.

The below is some sort of obituary published by Japan Times on 7 October 2005.

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Minazo, Japan's largest seal, died this week having charmed visitors for 10 1/2 years at Enoshima Aquarium in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, aquarium officials said.

The 11-year-old male, 4.5-meters long and weighing about 2 tons, was the largest seal ever raised by a Japanese aquarium. The animal died Tuesday after its appetite began to rapidly weaken the day before, officials said. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Minazo was brought to Japan from Uruguay in 1995. The seal soon mastered a variety of comical feats, including a popular stunt in which he held a bucket with one flipper while sticking out his tongue.

Minazo quickly rose to stardom at the aquarium, where his three shows a day proved a hit with visitors.

The aquarium has set up a space in front of Minazo's water tank to allow visitors to leave flowers in Minazo's memory, the officials said.

I felt a mild sense of loss to have missed meeting this amazing creature by 8 years, on the other hand, I am aware that it was for human's entertainment that ultimately drove Minazo to his grave by wearing him down with frequent and demanding performances. The typical life-span of an Elephant Seal is 22 years.

RIP Minazo the bucket seal, thanks for leaving us with your wonderful images showcasing your quirky ways.