Photos Found on USB Stick Found in Frozen Seal Poo

There have been plenty of stories of photos being found on lost cameras over the years, but here’s a wild lost-and-found story you definitely haven’t heard before. A USB drive has been reunited with its owner after it was found in a frozen slab of seal poo.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand announced earlier this week that while defrosting a frozen block of leopard seal poo that had been in freezer storage, marine biologists were surprised to find a USB stick embedded deep inside the scat.

The poo had been collected by a Kiwi vet who had been checking on the health of a skinny leopard seal on a beach in November 2017.

Scientists found that the USB drive was in “reasonably good condition” despite likely passing through the guts of a seal and spending a year frozen inside poo. And after drying out the drive for a couple of weeks, the researchers were surprised to find photos and a video intact.

NIWA then posted a video found on the USB stick to social media in an effort to locate the owner.

NIWA is searching for the owner of a USB stick found in the poo of a leopard seal…
Recognise this video? Scientists analysing the scat of leopard seals have come across an unexpected discovery – a USB stick full of photos & still in working order! https://t.co/2SZVkm5az4 pic.twitter.com/JLEC8vuHH0

— NIWA (@niwa_nz) February 5, 2019

Within a day, the owner of the USB drive was found.

Amanda Nally on when she found out her seal video and missing USB stick had gone viral: “The minute The Project promo come up actually… I was walking from one room to another and I was like… ‘that looks like…’” #TheProjectNZ pic.twitter.com/zyGVv4TYMc

— The Project NZ (@TheProject_NZ) February 7, 2019

On remembering the day she took the seal footage: “They’re endangered as kākāpō… To actually get to kayak with them is very special” #TheProjectNZ pic.twitter.com/5XNIYpDsUd

— The Project NZ (@TheProject_NZ) February 7, 2019

After a global search for the mystery owner of the usb memory stick that ended up in a #leopardseal poo sample being studied by @niwa_nz scientists – we can reveal the owner was close to home! https://t.co/gI5lnAzwb4

— NIWA (@niwa_nz) February 7, 2019

The brand and model of the USB drive hasn’t been revealed, but whatever drive it is can now advertise itself as being not only weatherproof but possibly digestion-proof as well.