At last, a little seal to protect onshore
Oct/25/18 02:50 PM
First Responder Victoria was getting pretty discouraged the past few weeks. It seemed that lately, on her weekly day of duty for Seal Sitters, all she had responded to were dead and often quite decomposed young harbor seals. It had been over a month since Seal Sitters had looked after a live seal. Imagine her surprise and delight when around 10am on Monday she received a call from Hotline Operator Cheri and subsequently taped off a small bit of public access to protect a small seal at Emma Schmitz Overlook.
On this very foggy morning, Scheduler Colette lined up several volunteers (Jay, Tim and Ashley), who watched over Harlequin, named after the beautiful harlequin ducks observed in the water nearby. As the tide started to rise, the beach began to disappear. The thin seal returned to the Sound around 1pm and vanished in the fog. Harlequin was not sighted the following day.
A waterfront homeowner called on Wednesday to report a seal, perched on a large rock along the seawall of her property (photo above). Co-Investigator Lynn identified him as Harlequin. Since there was no minus tide and little risk of beachcombers and dogs, he was deemed relatively safe, so no volunteers were necessary. The young seal was back on the homeowner’s beach Thursday morning, too - once again staying until the incoming tide reached his favorite rock, forcing him to return to Puget Sound mid-afternoon. We were relieved he had found a tucked-away, private spot to rest.
On this very foggy morning, Scheduler Colette lined up several volunteers (Jay, Tim and Ashley), who watched over Harlequin, named after the beautiful harlequin ducks observed in the water nearby. As the tide started to rise, the beach began to disappear. The thin seal returned to the Sound around 1pm and vanished in the fog. Harlequin was not sighted the following day.
A waterfront homeowner called on Wednesday to report a seal, perched on a large rock along the seawall of her property (photo above). Co-Investigator Lynn identified him as Harlequin. Since there was no minus tide and little risk of beachcombers and dogs, he was deemed relatively safe, so no volunteers were necessary. The young seal was back on the homeowner’s beach Thursday morning, too - once again staying until the incoming tide reached his favorite rock, forcing him to return to Puget Sound mid-afternoon. We were relieved he had found a tucked-away, private spot to rest.
