(Video courtesy Seal Sitters)
By Brenda Peterson, Seal Sitters
Special to West Seattle Blog

In the past two weeks we have had 5 pups on the beaches in West Seattle. Please be on alert as you walk the beaches (with binoculars!). If you see a pup please let our Seal Sitter hotline know. Call to report a seal pup on the beach at: 206 905-7324 (SEAL).

One vital thing you can do, even if you do not see a pup, is to let dog people know to leash their dogs because dogs and seal pups can pass diseases back and forth. We don’t want ANY of our pups to get hurt. These seal pups are being weaned and really need rest from their first fishing attempts. This is a critical time for weaning pups; they are often thin and exhausted from their first fishing forays without their mothers.

Though WA State has a healthy seal population, 50% of pups do not survive their first year. The main predators are dogs off-leash and people crowding them. NOAA advises that people please stay the 100 yards back from any resting pup and call Seal Sitters hotline for our trained volunteers. If you see a seal being harassed, please call NOAA’s enforcement hotline at: 1-800-853-1964 or NOAA local stranding hotline at: 206-526-6733.

We cannot cover every beach especially during this busy pup season, so those of you who regularly walk the beach, please be on alert for napping pups.

Last week a new Seal Sitter volunteer named a pup “Justice” after her grandson who was born after 9.11. “Justice” hauled out on a beach on 09.09.09 and was healthy and alert. He lifted his head at every passing school bus and garbage truck. He woke from a deep sleep every time a cell phone or loud voice startled him. Scientists have discovered that seal experience R.E.M. sleep just as humans do! Imagine trying to nap in the middle of an intersection – that’s how our beaches must seem to a seal pup. Thanks for your awareness and please help spread the word. Our Seal Sitter kids have been doing a wonderful job in their schools:

Atop this story is a video of “Justice,” who returned to the waves at 3:00 after hauling out at 8 a.m. It is normal to see seal pups on our beaches. Please educate everyone you know that West Seattle shores are a sanctuary for seal pups. Visit our website at www.sealsitters.org for more information, kids’ activities, and brochures you can print out to distribute on your walks. We hope that seal pups will realize they are among friends here on our West Seattle beaches!

On Tuesday 9.15 we had a pup actually on the sidewalk across from Cactus Restaurant on Alki Beach. Some new Seal Sitters were thrilled to take their first turn watching over this pup, who went back into the water at 7:30 p.m.

What We Need Now:

1. A Twitter person who can do quick, up-to-date blogs for those who want to follow Seal Sitters
2. Schedulers who can make calls so we do not tie up the dispatch line when a pup is on the beach
3. Computer-savvy volunteers who can help us with coordinating updates to volunteers
4. Donations of money or time to help us organize our all-volunteer organization
5. Grant writers so we can get some funding

You can reach Seal Sitters through their website – sealsitters.org.