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Any thoughts about what led the seal to help Jada when she was under the water?

Seals are very intelligent.

and keeping with the themes of the book….this spot was their birthing ground. They probably knew of the significance of what Genghis Khan hid within it. The seal knew that Jada was trying to help save the planet, so the seal helped.

🤦‍♀️

Seals sense when there is danger of someone dying or struggling in the water and will push them to shore.

There is documented evidence of both dolphins and seals saving drowning humans by pushing them to safety. I don't know why except the connectivity between animals and humans. Our pets will sense our feelings of sadness and snuggle to make us feel better is another example. We are all in it together.

I thought it was a cute plot twist. Like >4 JohnDBurke: said, there's plenty of evidence that some sea creatures will try to save humans.

The biologist in me longs to answer this...but I won't.

>3 EadieB: and >4 JohnDBurke: thanks for the info. I did not know that about Seals. Makes more sense now!

>6 Carol420: oh go on! 😁

>8 Andrew-theQM: Okay...Yes, there have been reports over the years...even the centuries, of dolphins saving a drowning victim...but it was more than likely not because they felt any undying love for the human race. Bear in mind that there is no "Dolphin Rescue 911" or a squad of dolphins sitting out in the ocean like lifeguards waiting for a floundering human. Dolphins are wild animals. Like most animals they can be "socialized"...but they are not "domesticated" like your dog or cat. Their reaction to a drowning person will depend on what their previous encounters have been with people. A fisherman that might throw part of his catch to a pod would establish the dolphin's association of people with food...which in the case of most all wild animals is dangerous. What reaction is that animal going to have when the floundering person in the water doesn't have any food to give? What happens when that pod (they travel in groups, and almost never solitary), becomes frightened by the frantic movement. Especially if the encounters with people don't happen very often. Those animals, as adults weigh from 2,000 to 6,000 pounds depending on the species. Here's my soapbox speech. I'm good at it, and believe me, I have had a LOT of practice. There is a huge difference between "socialization" and "domestication". Socialization happens because the animal is accustomed to seeing humans in their habitat and perhaps receiving food, like the fisherman that throws the pod some of his catch...domestication sometimes takes hundreds, if not thousands of years. I spent 28 years of my life trying to get people to understand that that cute little bear cub is going to grow up, and nature has endowed him the ability to consider you his next meal. Wild animals are not pets and they can't ever be trusted to act like pets no matter how cute or how gentle they seem to be." I want people to love nature, and it's vital to its survival that people will want to protect it... but please, please enjoy its wild residents from a safe distance... and please leave them in the wild. I can't begin to tell you how many people over those 28 years, showed up with something as simple as a turtle, a rabbit, a squirrel, or snakes and lizards, wanting the zoo to take them because the cute little animal had bitten them or their child. Bear in mind also that a huge number of those animals that are being viewed as pets are already protected by more laws than you are, and you can be fined or arrested for having them to start with. Thank you...Now I feel better.

>9 Carol420: Thanks Carol
We have a home across the bay from Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland Eastern Shore. The island has herds of wild horses. There are warnings all over the island not to feed or get near the horses. There has never been time when there I haven’t seen people placing their children next to these horses for a photo. The horses are beautiful, but wild and these people are putting their children at risk of injury.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

>10 JohnDBurke: Lucky you.... You get to enjoy some beautiful nature. Those horses are indeed beautiful and they are protected by 2 Federal Laws ...The Wild Horse Protection Act that has been in place since the early 60's and the 1970's Wild Free Roaming Horse & Burros act. Signs mean nothing to people...or it means everybody EXCEPT them.

>11 Carol420: thanks Carol. Eadie and I are blessed. To me, the horses are the most beautiful when they are running in the surf.