Yesterday, Seal Sitters volunteers manned a booth at the always fun Alki Art Fair, a celebration of art and music along West Seattle’s beach promenade. We spoke with 308 interested folks about NOAA’s NW Marine Mammal Stranding Network (of which we are a part) and the impending harbor seal pupping season. The season is in full swing in the rookeries and we fully expect an onslaught of newly weaned pups any day now. This early in the season we may get our share of nursing-age pups, too. We did have our first pup early in the week, Georgie - possibly only a day or so old, with umbilicus cord still attached. We have not sighted Georgie since then, but hope that he was reunited with mom and nursing happily.

We talked to many parents strolling with their kids, who were captivated (like 2 year old Maggie above) by our seal hand puppet mascot Storm (named in honor of a thin pup we rescued in 2010 who was rehabbed and released successfully back to the wild). Volunteers Julia and Nina, our unparalleled puppeteers, made sure the kids understood that they cannot touch a real seal pup and need to stay far away so the pup can rest undisturbed.

Thanks to Snooter-doots’ Gina for donating two unique felt seals for our raffle this weekend! Yesterday’s winner graciously refused the prize so that we could use the toy to raise additional funds. Thanks so much, Leonard, and to everyone who donated to our cause. Because Seal Sitters MMSN receives no funding from NOAA, the State or City, every contribution helps us pay for our dedicated phone hotline, website and blog hosting and stranding/educational materials. Stop by today for another chance to win these one-of-a-kind toys.

Flipper hugs to all the volunteers who put in hours Friday and yesterday, helping with various tasks for Fair organizers (in exchange for our table - thanks to Alki Art Fair!) and doing outreach at our booth. Shown in the photo here are (left to right) Tod, David, Eilene, Julia, Nina and Billy. A number of other volunteers also helped out throughout the day.

Please swing by our booth today to learn about the marine mammals of Puget Sound and volunteer opportunities.

UPDATE 7/29
Our volunteers talked to 264 great people today. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to make this a very successful event!

Tags: storm