Pupdate: The weeks old pup rescued by Seal Sitters from a West Seattle cove on August 15th has finally finished rehabilitation and is ready for release back to the wild. Sandy was terribly thin (photo) and spent the night on the beach. She was taken to PAWS early the following morning. The photo shows her haul out path and the distinct tracks made by seals when they come ashore. Unable to rotate their rear flippers for locomotion on land like sea lions, harbor seals use only their front flippers and crawl in an undulating motion much like a caterpillar. While awkward and vulnerable on shore, seals are fast and acrobatic swimmers with their sleek, torpedo-shaped bodies.

Sandy will be fitted with a satellite tag. This will provide valuable information to biologists and the hope is that the public will be able to track her movements via the internet as well. Her release had been planned for tomorrow, however, due to snow and ice conditions, it will be rescheduled. Please check back for photos of her release to a South Puget Sound haul out site and information about potential website monitoring. It would be a thrill to be able to follow Sandy’s progress back home in the sea.

Tags: Sandy, rehabilitation