How do we estimate the age of a seal pup? Through photos of their teeth. Seals have between 34 and 36 teeth. The front teeth are sharp and used for grasping and tearing food, while the back teeth are used for crushing.

A nursing pup does not yet have all of his teeth, much to the relief of mom! In order to tell if a pup is weaned, our photographer tries to get photos of each pup when they yawn so we can count the number of teeth. This requires alot of patience, a long telephoto lens and a bit of luck. By the time pups show up in West Seattle, they are usually newly weaned; however, we do get some nursing pups as well. Why is it important for Seal Sitters to know if a pup is still nursing? Because it is imperative that mom is not discouraged from returning for her pup. This means keeping the area especially quiet of crowds and noise. Pups are weaned between 4 - 6 weeks of age.