While accustomed to runway incursions by the local fauna, the bearded seal seeking a moment of repose on Runway 7/25 at Utqiagvik's Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport was a first for airport personnel. Meadow Bailey, communications director for the Alaska Department of Transportation, says heavy storms had recently come through the area, which perhaps drove the marine mammal to the relative warmth of the asphalt runway. Bailey says, "The workers have seen birds, caribou, polar bears and musk ox on the runway, but the seal sighting was a first."
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/low-sealings-reported-at-utqiagvik-airport