West Seattle Blog… | BEACH WARNING: What you need to know about seal pup season

Warm weather and summer holidays are just around the corner. David Hutchinson out of Seal Sitters Network for stranded marine mammals offers this reminder:

Harbor seal “pup season” in our part of Puget Sound runs from June to September. After birth, the pups spend only 4 to 6 weeks with their mothers before venturing out on their own. Over the next few months, beach walkers in West Seattle are very likely to encounter these defenseless young seal pups on our public and private beaches. These marine mammals are federally protected. If you encounter a harbor seal pup (or other marine mammal) on the beach, please stay back, keep people and pets away, and call the Seal Care Hotline at 206-905-7325.

The telephoto photo on the poster shows “Loki,” a seal pup rescued from Constellation Park by Seal Sitters and successfully rehabilitated by our partner SR3 at their facility in Des Moines. Loki was eventually released back into Puget Sound.

Seal Sitters is part of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. We are authorized to respond to any marine mammals, alive or dead, that end up on West Seattle beaches. NOAA’s official stranding map, which shows coverage areas and contact information for the various groups, is available at: this link – then look under “Network cards”).