Update: Alki harbor seal gets a name, and is doing OK

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

ORIGINAL 3:29 PM POST: Thanks to Colby for the tip and the photos – a baby seal is up on the landing between two waterfront staircases on Alki, across from Pegasus. The area is taped off and under Seal Sitters guard. (4:16 PM P.S.: A commenter asked if it’s alive – Colby’s note included this: “Aside from a little blood on his nose, he (or she?) appears to be resting. Every so often, one might catch a peek of him taking a nice restful breath.”)

7:42 PM UPDATE: Lots of great updates in the comments – thank you all! – most recently, this, from Lynn:

Update from the Seal Sitters: the NOAA biologist discerned from our photos of the Alki pup, which we named Forte which means strong in Spanish, that the wound on his nose is a superficial and not life threatening. Forte is underweight for this time of year but all other signs suggest good health (I.e. Stretching in the banana pose, alertness, steady and calm breathing, no coughing and no discharge from mouth, nose or eyes.) It is natural for a seal to haul out on our beach to rest after foraging and these big storms. Thanks to eveyone for keeping their distance and allowing the pup for sharing our shores. We are grateful to NOAA for their guidance and we will keep the WSB updated. If you want to volunteer for watching over Forte, call 905-SEAL (7325).

KSJ January 10, 2009 (3:40 pm)

Hurrah for seal sitters – thank you!

WesCAddle January 10, 2009 (3:41 pm)

Is it alive?

Brendan January 10, 2009 (4:06 pm)

is it bleeding from it’s right nostril? are the Seal Sitters in contact with the appropriate animal protection agency?

HunterG January 10, 2009 (4:36 pm)

<3 Yay for seal sitters!

Meghan January 10, 2009 (4:41 pm)

I encountered a ‘beached’ baby seal on Vashon last weekend. I found out that seal mothers set their babies on the beach (a safe place) while they go out fishing for food for the baby. But sometimes if she sets the pup on a beach where a lot of people later gather, she may be too frightened to come back to the baby. That’s the main reason it’s illegal to get within 100 (150?; I can’t remember) yards of a seal pup.

d January 10, 2009 (6:11 pm)

I the beach this afternoon and came upon the seal pup and three Seal Sitter volunteers.

Sandy, a photographer with Seal Sitters, told me the pup is about six months old. She took some photographs and sent them to the biologists at NOAA (who trains all of the Seal Sitters) and the Department of Wildlife. The biologists are able to do assessments from Sandy’s photographs and the observations the sitters provide them.

They think the pup might be a little underweight, and might have an infection that has apparently been spotted in other seal pups with the same symptoms of the bloody nose. It seems the overall assessment is he is OK. The stress of handling him and taking him up to the PAWS Wildlife Center would be greater than the stress of him riding out whatever infection he may or may not have. So, the decision is keep him protected till he slides back into the Sound.

One of the other three woman I spoke with who lives on Alki found the pup early this morning and contacted the Seal Sitters. As a result, she is now a Seal Sitter volunteer (yay for her!). She considers herself very lucky to live on the beach which provides such incredible contacts with wildlife.

Sandy is hopeful that the pup will reenter the water at high tide sometime later tonight.

The website for the Seal Sitters follows. Sandy asked that folks, especially regular beach walkers and nearby neighborhood folks, consider registering as a volunteer. You will receive training from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency. Pretty good training, for sure.

http://www.sealsitters.org/index.html

Bob January 10, 2009 (6:13 pm)

These photos are extremely disturbing. I hope it gets help, it looks like it needs it.

To add to what Meghan said: also if the baby seal gets touched, the mother will abandon it because of the human scent on it.

WSB January 10, 2009 (6:17 pm)

Thanks for the update, “d.” For those not familiar with the Seal Sitters, we have reported on them multiple times before (and the link in d’s comment is the same one you’d reach from the linked Seal Sitters name in the original post – anything in blue in a WSB post is a link, otherwise the nonlinked text color is black) – they are volunteers but they are trained and they are “expert” in how to handle these situations – most important, as stressed and re-stressed, to keep your distance.

d January 10, 2009 (6:23 pm)

FYI –

There is a yellow-tape barrier surrounding the pup. And the vigilant presence of the Seal Sitters is preventing anyone from contacting the little fella’ directly. So, no need to worry about that. The Seal Sitters are VERY well trained about all these things and are out to take care of him. And, they have!

Also, this pup is about six months old and has been independent of its mother for a good long while. He’s completely on his own at this point.

The pictures are perhaps a little deceiving. He is simply sleeping really, really hard. He’s sacked out! He’s rolled over and repositioned himself a number of times through the course of the day, according to Sandy. So, no need to worry folks. He’s OK!

alki_2008 January 10, 2009 (6:36 pm)

The little guy looks like he just hit the Alki bars, maybe got into a little bar brawl, and now is completely zonked and sleeping it off. :-p

On a serious note – is that spotted dalmation-like coloration common among seals? I’ve never seen a seal that wasn’t solid brown, so just curious.

WSB January 10, 2009 (6:41 pm)

This is a harbor seal – they’re generally “spotted” like that. Brown seals around here are generally either California sea lions or else on occasion the yellow-brown Steller sea lion.

What The January 10, 2009 (7:15 pm)

I’ve seen a lot of California Sea Lions migrating to West Seattle over the past few years…I can tell from their license plates and/or fluorescent tags…hopefully this Jr. harbor seal will be off to The Sound shortly.

Lynn January 10, 2009 (7:35 pm)

Update from the Seal Sitters: the NOAA biolgist discerned from our photos of the Alki pup, which we named Forte which means strong in Spanish, that the wound on his nose is a superficial and not life threatening. Forte is underweight for this time of year but all other signs suggest good health (I.e. Stretching in the banana pose, alertness, steady and calm breathing, no coughing and no discharge from mouth, nose or eyes.) It is natural for a seal to haul out on our beach to rest after foraging and these big storms. Thanks to eveyone for keeping their distance and allowing the pup for sharing our shores. We are grateful to NOAA for their guidance and we will keep the WSB updated. If you want to volunteer for watching over Forte, call 905-SEAL (7325).

hutchbec January 10, 2009 (9:15 pm)

Thank you so much for the info – I walked past the scene earlier today and figured the poor little thing was dead. I was sad all afternoon thinking about it. I’m so relieved to know things seem to be okay. Thanks again, seal sitters!!!

rbj January 10, 2009 (10:15 pm)

That seal looks like it needs to get a job and stop smoking all that ganja!

Bad Seal! All passed out on a beach like that…

EPL January 10, 2009 (10:22 pm)

The pics broke my heart. I am so glad he is OK. Is he going to stay OK? Hang in there little guy….

What The January 11, 2009 (1:45 am)

Typical “Fisherman”…passed out during “shore leave”…. :)

Brenda January 11, 2009 (10:43 am)

Seal Sitters update on the pup called Forte on Alki 1.10.2009
A little past midnight on Saturday, the juvenile pup Forte aptly lived up to his name by returning to the sea at low tide. He had a little trouble navigating the big steps on Alki back down to the beach, but he demonstrated his strength and health by doing so after enjoying his 17 hour nap in the middle of the city’s busiest beach. We are happy to see the pup back in the waves and wish him good fishing, safe journey, and calmer seas! Thanks to NOAA and their full-time stranding expert, Kristin for her good advice.
Thanks to all the intrepid Seal Sitter volunteers who kept vigil over Forte all those long, chilly hours and to the West Seattle neighbors who showed concern and care by keeping their distance and just letting the pup rest amidst us.
Keep your eyes out for any other pups on our beach. We are so fortunate to share our shores with wild animals. It’s what makes our neighborhood a little larger than just us, a little more welcoming to all. For further information on Forte’s big day on Alki Beach and more photos, see the Seal Sitters blog at http://www.sealsitters.org
And thanks so much for the West Seattle Blog’s concern and coverage.
Your neighborhood Seal Sitters