Despite severe winds and at times pelting rain, Seal Sitters volunteers put in long hours protecting a harbor seal pup that rested at Constellation Park today. Our first responder arrived on the scene just minutes after a report was phoned into Seal Sitters’ dedicated hotline (206-905-SEAL) about 8:30 this morning.

Reporting party Grace, who had been walking along a turbulent Puget Sound, pointed out the alert pup halfway up the cement ramp that leads down to the popular beach. The pup had come up at a very high tide. With no exposed beach to rest upon, he (or she) decided the cement ramp would do just fine for an extended snooze.

And snooze the pup did throughout the day despite tremendous wind gusts that blew over signs and the yellow “Share the Shore - Protected Marine Mammal” tape stretched along the sidewalk above him.

Volunteers talked to a surprising number of folks, out braving the elements and thrilled to be able to view a pup so close up to the sea wall. As the afternoon wore on and after enduring a torrential downpour, volunteers wondered if the pup, nicknamed Sena by 8-year old Sadie on her first day as a Seal Sitter, was going to return to the Sound before dark.

Shortly after 5 pm, Sena, estimated to be between 6-8 months old, began stirring and made a move back to the water and swam off in search of dinner.

Volunteers, though chilled to the bone, were grateful to have been able to protect a seemingly healthy weaned seal pup. Sena appears to have a small cut on the left side of the mouth that is swollen and perhaps a bit of respiratory issues, but nothing of great concern that we observed. Thanks to our dedicated Seal Sitters souls who helped out today - and to the many passersby who were so kind and appreciative of our work.

On Thursday, a seal pup nicknamed Barnacle visited Don Armeni boat ramp on another damp day. The pup had an abscess on his head that was visibly draining. Before we were able to treat the wound, Barnacle moved close to the water’s edge and it was determined that the stress of capture and topical treatment outweighed the benefit to the pup. He returned to Elliott Bay around 1:30 in the afternoon.

Tags: Sena, Barnacle