The winter months pose many challenges for weaned pups struggling to survive. When our seal pup Doc was onshore for a day with blood around the mouth and some sustained coughing episodes, we sent video to WDFW’s marine mammal research biologist for input. We were afraid that the pup had possible lungworm issues and that was confirmed. As Dyanna Lambourn explains, lung worm infection is very common in pups this age.

Every single pup deals with parasites to some extent because the majority of worms (lungworms, tapeworms, roundworms, etc) come from the food they eat. Once ingested, the parasite settles into the host animal, grows and reproduces. Because these parasites are foreign to the body, the pup begins to build up an immune system to combat them. Read More...

Tags: Doc

Yesterday after seal pup Doc returned to the water, we stashed our cones, stakes and tape on the sea wall in case we needed them again early this morning. When our first responder did her early morning sweep, the cones were floating in the Sound. Apparently the high tide and waves crashed over the wall, sweeping away our precious materials. Able to retrieve only one cone and a long length of Protected Marine Mammal yellow tape, she later spotted a young boy snorkeling nearby. Our new superhero, David Dulaigh (aka Flipperboy), snagged the remaining cones, stakes and tape for us. Thanks to David and his mom. Our worst nightmare would be a seal pup washing ashore wrapped in “protective” tape! We always use biodegradable tape instead of plastic whenever we have concerns about incoming tides and no volunteers available to monitor the area. One of our white barricades with the NOAA Marine Mammal sign, however, is still missing. We have no idea if it, too, was swept out into the water. If you happen to come across it, please call our hotline 206-905-SEAL (7325).

Tags: Doc

You can imagine our dispatcher Larry’s reaction when the hotline received a phone report this morning of a pup sleeping under a garage on Alki Beach. Our first responder was called and, sure enough, found the little one sound asleep underneath the beachfront house. It was a very high tide this morning and the pup apparently took advantage of the only piece of beach he could find. He does not appear to be one of the pups we have watched over this season, however, we will be comparing photos to confirm that. There was some blood on his mouth and he had a bit of a cough. The pup returned to the Sound about 4pm this afternoon. As long as pups are able to come and go from the beach and forage for food, it is a good sign. We will be keeping an eye out for this pup so we can monitor his health. The owner of the property is an emergency room doctor, so this little pup has been dubbed Doc.

Tags: Doc