When A Fishing Crew Spotted A Creature Stranded On The Ice, They Couldn’t Believe What They’d Found

The morning started as just another cold day for Mallory Harrigan and Cliff and Alan Russell. The trio was sailing the coastal waters of Labrador, Canada, in search of crab. But soon they faced something entirely unexpected. On a nearby iceberg, a creature of some sort appeared to be struggling. It looked cold and lonely, and voracious seagulls were dive-bombing it. Moved by its plight, Harrigan and the two Russells felt they had no choice but to intervene... then they were met with a huge surprise.

A late start

This was unfortunate because, until this moment, things had been pretty plain sailing. True, the group was running a little behind schedule, but nothing untoward had occurred. As Harrigan recalled to People magazine a month later, “We were off to a late start. But there had been an unusual amount of ice that prevented us from getting out.”

Sailing toward Pinsent's Arm

For all intents and purposes, then, the day had developed like any other. The trio sailed their vessel – a boat called The Northern Swan – toward the settlement of Pinsent’s Arm. There, they planned to stop for fuel. But as the crew made their way to the town, their ordinary day turned into an extraordinary one.

Something's on that iceberg

About four miles out from the coastline, the crew caught sight of a conspicuous iceberg. The thing looked like a mushroom – but that wasn’t all that grabbed the trio’s attention. Some sort of animal appeared to be stuck on top of it... and it looked like it needed help.

Is it a seal?

This iceberg was floating out to sea, with the animal stuck on top in some distress. At first, the three-person crew thought that the creature must have been a seal. But if that was the case, then why hadn’t it dived into the water and swam to safety?