The real-life adventures of an elephant seal in Victoria, lovingly named Emerson by locals, has been turned into a children’s book.
Back in the spring of 2024, the Emerson-saga began when the two-year-old seal kept turning up in public areas like the Songhees Walkway and various popular beaches and roads.
Emerson was moulting at the time, a process where seals shed skin and fur over the course of about a month.
Attempts were made to plop the moulting seal on nice secluded areas, like Barkley Sound Beach, but he would stubbornly return time after time to Victoria’s beaches and roads, making headlines and gaining a loyal following in the process.
Illustrator and author Ginger Ngo was inspired by the seal’s antics, and turned his Victoria adventures into a children’s book. Ngo wanted to answer the question: what exactly brought Emerson back?
Wildlife officials may have their own theories as to what kept Emerson so enthralled with Victoria’s public spaces, but Ngo’s book takes the reader on a humorous journey through the eyes of Emerson himself to answer that question.
Emerson the Elephant Seal explores all the things the young elephant seal may have been wanting to do and see during his time in Greater Victoria, including rolling in the flowers at Butchart Gardens or sampling the smoked salmon sandwiches at the Empress.
The author is based in Vancouver, but has Chinese roots and was born and raised in the Philippines. Ngo also illustrated a picture book by Grant Lawrence, Adventures in Desolation Sound.
Emerson the Elephant Seal can be purchased online from Harbour Publishing, or at your local bookstore.
