If you’re headed to the beach for today’s low tide, or any other time soon, be extra-watchful – harbor-seal pupping season is starting. Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network has this reminder:
Pupping season in our part of Puget Sound runs from June – September. Over the next months, beach walkers in West Seattle will very likely come across vulnerable Harbor Seal pups on both our public and private beaches. These young marine mammals are protected by federal law. If you come across a seal pup using the beach, please keep back, keep people and pets away, and call the Seal Sitters’ Hotline at 206-905-7325.
Seal Sitters is part of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Our territory is West Seattle, from Brace Point through the Duwamish River including Harbor Island and the East Waterway. We are responsible for responding to all marine mammals, alive or dead, that end up on the beaches within that area. (The official NOAA stranding map, which shows the coverage areas and the contact information for the various groups that respond to marine mammals on the beaches of Puget Sound, is viewable at this link – click on “Network Maps.”)
If you can, add Seal Sitters’ hotline to your phone – if you don’t, it’s easy to remember: 206-905-SEAL.
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