WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Krista Hupman, a biologist in New Zealand who studies the feces of leopard seals, knows they can contain surprises like feathers, fish bones and birds’ feet. But on Wednesday, she described “definitely the weirdest” find yet: a USB drive containing photos and videos of a tourist’s vacation.

Now Dr. Hupman, a research scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, wants to reunite the USB drive with its owner.

The seal scat, Dr. Hupman said, was collected from Oreti Beach in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand in November 2017, and frozen for a later study of the animal’s diet. Two volunteers defrosting the fecal matter last month discovered the thumb drive and called Dr. Hupman.