Peripheral Justice

It was not an unreasonable request. Had her rival lain low, the whole affair would have passed quickly, but that was never going to happen. This community isn’t wired that way. Especially for them, second-class citizens forced to live on the periphery and frequently on the move.

The elephant seal mother recognized the rising tide and knew it was time to relocate. The dominant females claimed all the spots further up the beach. Penetrating that portion of the harem was an impossible task. The best option was to move 30 feet across the beach and up to an empty spot just below the high-water mark. A temporary slice of nirvana until the next emergency forced her to relocate.

Mother and pup shuffled along the narrow beach. Sea foam moistened the tips of their flippers and served as a reminder of what they were escaping. The last stretch of their journey required them to pass behind another mother-pup pair. All was well until a rogue wave pushed them up the beach. The second mother, another periphery resident and likely of equal stature, quickly objected to the family infringing on her territory.

With teeth bared, the second mother grumbled a warning. As the traveling pair continued, that warning morphed into a howling threat. Unwilling to back down, the first mother faced her opponent and howled back. The pups, now used to life on the periphery, scattered to safety to watch the budding altercation. Two mouths, equally wide and equally threatening, traded spit, sand, and howls with no resolution. Two bodies, equally large and equally massive, pushed against each other with…well…no resolution. Physics demanded that the contest end in a draw. Cosmic justice demanded a recount.

The pups, sensing an end to the hostilities, trundled to their respective mothers. The first pair rested in the wet sand. A frustrating outcome for a mother looking to improve her location. The second mother settled back to where she had started. A hardened seal, too proud to temporarily cede an inch of her territory. This is life on the periphery. Fights are inevitable. Change, not so much.

In the quiet aftermath of the battle, a rumble disturbed the colony. Individuals rose slowly from their slumber until a rhythmic pounding shook the beach. Mothers and pups rushed to escape a galumphing male. He, too, had been sleeping, but the confrontation between the mothers awakened the bull and his limitless libido. The two pups knew the drill. They scurried to safe locations and exchanged a quick glance as if to say, “This guy.”

The hardened mother was the bull’s target. Tired from the earlier fight, she was slow to react. She tried to resist, but it was too late. Within seconds she was engulfed by five-thousand pounds of passion.