ORIGINAL TUESDAY REPORT: We’ve received several reports in recent days of a dead sea lion – some have mistaken it for a whale calf, but it’s not – seen on the shore at Seacrest and Don Armeni. The most recent photos show it’s marked with bright-green paint, which means it’s already been officially noted. We asked Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network‘s David Hutchinson about it – he sent this reply with a photo of one of the signs SSMMSN has posted:
Seal Sitters has been monitoring the location of this California Sea Lion carcass since Friday (10/20) when it washed up by the north end of Don Armeni. Since then, it has floated to Cove #3 by Marination.
Signs have been posted and Seal Sitters has contacted Seattle Parks about removal and disposal. The carcass has been marked with green spray paint – this is done for ID purposes in case it floats to a different location.
If you see any type of marine mammal, dead or alive, on a West Seattle beach – or one that appears to be in distress r deceased offshore – call Seal Sitters MMSN’s hotline at 206-905-SEAL.
ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: An update from David Hutchinson:
Seattle Parks removed the California Sea Lion carcass today. During the night it had floated up from Cove 3 to the Don Armeni boat ramp. This made it accessible to their equipment – this was a large animal, approximately 8 -9 feet in length. No necropsy was done due to advanced decomposition. I was contacted last evening by a reporting party who sent photos from 10/7 showing it floating in Elliott Bay on that date. Thanks to those who called the Seal Sitters’ Hotline, and helped us keep track of its location.
Seal Sitters is responsible for responding to reports of any dead marine mammal on West Seattle beaches. For cases like this, where the carcass has to be left on the beach, our responders often mark it with bright spray paint. Many people who resight and report the carcass to our hotline (206-905-7325), are then able to identify it as the same animal rather than reporting it as a different case each time it’s resighted. If the carcass is in good enough condition, a necropsy is usually performed to try to determine cause of death. All cases are documented and entered into the NOAA National Marine Mammal Stranding Database.
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