West Seattle wildlife: “Late-season” seal pup appears at Alki

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Scroll down for Saturday update – the seal pup didn’t survive)

Alki’s David Hutchinson shares that photo, along with this report:

A Harbor Seal pup “hauled out” before noon today at Alki Beach just east of the Bathhouse. Seal Sitters were on site along with Dan Campau of Seattle Parks & Recreation and set up a safety perimeter. Quite a number of people stopped by to observe and take photos. Robin Lindsey of Seal Sitters said she thought it probably was a late season pup from last September judging by its size. The pup is still on the beach as of 2:55 PM.

4:53 PM: Added a video clip courtesy of Eilene Hutchinson:

Thanks to the Hutchinsons for sharing that sweet sight; you can find out all about seal pups on West Seattle beaches (and what to do if you happen onto one) at sealsitters.org.

2:56 PM: Sad news in comments – David Hutchinson reports the seal pup died early this afternoon. He says more details will be forthcoming on the Seal Sitters’ site at blubberblog.org.

patricia March 26, 2010 (5:00 pm)

Yes many of us saw the pup as early as 8am on the beach. Glad everyone kept a respectful distance before Sealsitters arrived.

carrie March 26, 2010 (6:36 pm)

Anyone know if the pup is still there? Thanks.

WSB March 26, 2010 (6:41 pm)

Someone just posted on our Facebook page http://facebook.com/westseattleblog that it was, as of 5:40 pm.

Eilene Hutchinson March 26, 2010 (7:31 pm)

The seal pup is still on the beach as of 7:30 PM.

cathyw March 26, 2010 (7:57 pm)

People down there were asking if the pup is healthy and the Seal Sitters assured us that it is. Makes me nervous though that it has been on the beach since at least 8am and still hasn’t gone back in the water. Course I don’t know anything about seals.

d March 26, 2010 (8:50 pm)

I bet he is just plum exhausted and needs to recuperate a bit from fighting the rough water. I wonder if the high winds wouldn’t have made for some very choppy seas for the young guy to learn how to navigate. So cute and he looks pretty plump too!

Nice pic and video – thanks for sharing, as always.

Eilene Hutchinson March 27, 2010 (2:57 am)

2:45 AM The harbor seal pup is still at Alki, crawling higher on the beach, to stay ahead of the incoming tide.

WSB March 27, 2010 (3:05 am)

Thanks, Eilene! (And thanks to you and David for the video/photo earlier) People also were inquiring on our Facebook page – I pointed them to the Seal Sitters’ blubberblog site but its latest update had ended with “spent more than 14 hours on the beach” so we weren’t sure of its status.

Kara March 27, 2010 (1:48 pm)

A friend and I both had the day off and decided to take a walk on Alki. She saw the beach was taped off and was concerned. I love that I got to tell her that the seal sitters were out!

David Hutchinson March 27, 2010 (2:52 pm)

Unfortunately, the harbor seal pup at Alki Beach did not survive. It died sometime between 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM today. Until that time, it had been sporadically moving down the beach toward the water. Robin Lindsey, of Seal Sitters, has taken it to a site where a necropsy will be preformed.
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Additional details will be posted at http://www.blubberblog.org

WSB March 27, 2010 (2:54 pm)

Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, and other folks who’ve been e-mailing us to ask will be sorry too. Thanks for the update, David, I have been watching blubberblog for updates but we’ve been out a few hours and I hadn’t checked it lately – TR

d March 27, 2010 (3:21 pm)

Sigh.

His presence on the beach with Seal Sitters and the story and pics here will have informed many people about the critters’ struggles.

Darn it though. :(

Kai March 27, 2010 (4:27 pm)

so sad.

i asked someone if the seal was okay, they said it was just taking a nap.:( so sad.

mira March 27, 2010 (4:42 pm)

Sorry little guy. Wish we had known you needed medical attention.

alkira March 30, 2010 (8:20 pm)

This is heartwrenching.

I read on the sealsitters.org site (recommended by WS blog) that NOAA recommends that humans stay 100 yards away from a baby seal – or the mother of the seal will sense danger and abandon the pup. That’s a FOOTBALL FIELD away, folks. That is not what happened. A crowd was easily within 20 yards of this seal for most of the day. Lack of proper boundaries set by the seal sitters and well meaning but ignorant people killed this seal. I’m totally disgusted.

WSB March 30, 2010 (8:38 pm)

Alkira, in this particular case I don’t believe the seal was awaiting its mom. As Robin has written on the Seal Sitters’ site, they are weaned very early, and this one was a yearling.
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http://www.blubberblog.org/files/23ea7bae7e6f802f6c459d10a053b7eb-74.html

alkira March 30, 2010 (8:42 pm)

I stand corrected. Apparently the seal was about a year old so would not be waiting or needing a mother to come get it. I also learned that while sealsitters.org would like to block off the beach so folks stay 100 yards away from baby seals, they can’t ask folks to leave the public beach.

So… I think there is still an important lesson here… if you love the seal pups, stay 100 yards away from them and please be QUIET! You might scare away a mother.

alkira March 30, 2010 (8:48 pm)

Thanks, WSB! I still think it’s important to educate folks that while the sealsitters will do their best to keep people away from the beached pups who do need their mothers – they simply can’t barricade off huge sections of the beach. I sure wish they could! I bet they do, too. So, folks should take it upon themselves to stay a football field away – unless they are told differently by an expert. Agree?

WSB March 30, 2010 (8:57 pm)

completely. Also, the Seal Sitters take care not to disclose exact location when it’s NOT something so public as mid-Alki that cannot be hidden, and we honor that. More than people, though, as has been pointed out before, it’s imperative to keep dogs away – even if you think you have them under control on a leash, they might break away, or lunge, or bark ferociously, and that can be a worse stress factor than a person who’s a little closer than they should be.

Sorry, comment time is over.