A small pup hauled out for several hours at Lincoln Park today. Seal Sitters received calls that people were “petting” a seal pup and that dogs were harassing the pup as well. The pup was alone on the beach when we arrived. The pup had tags on the rear flippers and was quickly identified in Fish and Wildlife’s database as a female from the rookeries of South Puget Sound near Steilacoom. Nicknamed “Stella” by SS, the female pup was tagged on September 17th in the South Sound, weaned and underweight at the time. Her arrival at Lincoln Park was quite a marathon swim for a two to three month old pup ~ all the way from south of Tacoma to West Seattle!

Every year, Fish and Wildlife biologists capture adult seals and pups to draw blood and blubber samples for health analysis of the harbor seal population. The animals are then tagged for id purposes in order to track their activities as they move around Puget Sound waters. Yellow tags denote females, blue tags for males and red tags for rehabbed seals or ones that spent extended time onshore. Streamers of various colors are often attached as well for easier id at long distances.

Blood samples are tested for diseases and other health perameters. Unfortunately, harbor seals are considered the barometers for the health of Puget Sound. Harbor seals in particular are affected by pollution because they do not migrate, but instead, live year-round in our region and eat smaller fish that live in our waters. These small fish and the organisms they consume contain high levels of microscopic particles of plastic and pollutants. From that contaminated food source, harbor seals’ thick layers of blubber absorb and retain these pollutants from our industrial waterways and storm runoff from agricultural products and waste. Biologists use blubber tissue samples from seals to monitor the health of the Sound, measuring levels of PCBs, increasing numbers of chemicals used in flame retardants (PBDEs), pesticides and other highly toxic waste. In fact, the harbor seals of South Puget Sound are 7 times more contaminated from PCBs than those living in Canada’s Georgia Strait. Read in detail about seals and our polluted waters on our website. View a video where Dyanna Lambourn discusses the contamination of seals in Puget Sound.

Josh and Adrianne from Fish and Wildlife made the long drive from Lakewood to Lincoln Park to do a health assessment on Stella. However, she swam off into the Sound minutes before they arrived ~ perhaps Stella’s idea of trick or treat!