Thanksgiving pup hauls out with dead sea lion
Nov/24/08 10:15 PM
A harbor seal pup hauled up yesterday on a stretch of Alki Beach next to a dead adult male California sea lion. The unusual sight on a sunny Seattle afternoon quickly drew a crowd of onlookers. It was a unique opportunity to inform the public of the differences between the two species, as most people assumed erroneously that the large mammal was the pup’s mom. The sea lion had perished on a private beach a month before, was marked and photographed for identification purposes by a Seal Sitter volunteer, but was washed back out to sea with the tide. After resurfacing on the public section of Alki over the weekend, the Parks department buried the carcass today due to its extreme weight (average weight of a sea lion is 800 lbs). The animal had decomposed and was not a viable candidate for a necropsy to determine the cause of death. There was no obvious sign of injury or human intervention evident to our volunteer who responded to the original stranding at Beach Drive SW on October 21.
The seal pup appeared to be in fine health (albeit a bit thin) and had a good long nap, largely unaware of the human clamor above him. Photos were sent to NOAA stranding expert, Kristin Wilkinson, for evaluation. The pup remained onshore until 9 p.m. last night before disappearing into the Sound.
The arrival of the pup coincided with a photo shoot for Science in Action magazine featuring young Seal Sitters. The East Coast editor wondered if a pup would be on the beach. SS volunteers Brenda and Robin assured her that, unfortunately, pups did not show up for casting calls! Imagine our shock when this little one DID! Read more about the magazine article here.
If you’d like to become a Seal Sitter, please visit our website at www.sealsitters.org
