Weddell Seal Cake
Drummond Small - 1971-72 - Antarcticans Database Project more

Back to thumbnails   Previous     Next   

For the mid-winter celebrations in 1971 our resident medic plus helpers (in an excess of culinary zeal) cooked an anatomically correct 1/3 scale Weddell seal. This amazing concoction comprised about 40lbs of cake mixed, gallons of food dye and yards of marzipan intestines. It was accompanied by a 1/3rd scale seal hook and thanks to our gifted diesel mechanic a perfect 1/3 scale .303 rifle based on the vintage WWI weapons we had on base for sealing. By modern ecologically correct standards (not to mention the faint of stomach) this might be viewed with a certain amount of distaste. Given that we had over 150 dogs to feed, sealing for dog food was a fact of life and the cake was viewed with admiration and consumed with gusto.

Photo; copyright Drummond Small

Tags: BAS, Base E, Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay