Park Aide Jessica Donald sets out orange safety cones.
Like the orange cones you see in road construction zones, the ones on the reef at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve are set out to form a “safety zone.” But instead of guarding the safety of human construction workers, the orange cones at FMR set up a human-free buffer zone around our resident harbor seals.
Harbor seals are shy animals that are easily disturbed by noisy, fast-moving humans. They haul out on FMR reefs at low tide to rest and warm up between underwater hunting sessions.
During the spring months they even give birth at FMR and nurse their babies on our reefs.
So please observe the orange cones and treat the boundary line they create with respect!