12 August 2012
The "g-string" found tangled around the neck of a seal on the Otago coast has been sold for $135 in an online auction.
The pink g-string, which actually appears to be a thoroughly worn baseball cap, was cut off the seal by conservation rangers after the sorry-looking animal was spotted by a member of the public late last month at a spot known as Lovers Leap, west of Dunedin.
The money raised on Saturday evening will go to philanthropists Gareth and Jo Morgan's campaign to eradicate mice from the Antipodes Islands.
The blurb with the auction, put up by the Morgans' Million Dollar Mouse organisation after the item was donated by the Department of Conservation, says the winning bidder will get the framed g-string, the front-page article from the Otago Daily Times and the official photo of the seal.
It says the incident highlights the risk of rubbish entering the oceans.
"As we saw in our far south trip, rubbish from all over the world ends up in the Southern Ocean and on our subantarctic islands and threatens wildlife unnecessarily. Please discard rubbish thoughtfully," Mr Morgan is quoted as saying.
All proceeds will go towards the campaign to eradicate mice, the last-remaining pest, from the Antipodes Islands, 800 kilometres southeast of Bluff. The organisation's website says $500,134 has been raised so far, including the Morgans' dollar-for-dollar donations.
