DES MOINES, Wash. — Harbor seal pupping season is underway.
In Des Moines, several beachgoers have been seeing this expecting mother seal while she's been resting out of the water on a dock.
Several people stopped by Redondo Beach on Saturday, June 21, to take photos and videos of her.
Volunteers with the Marine Mammal Stranding Team were nearby, making sure people kept their distance.
Harbor seals and other marine mammals are federally protected. You must stay 100 yards away from them if you spot them on or along beaches and waterways.
"Stay away from them," said Bill Buchanan, a volunteer with the Marine Mammal Stranding Team. "Notify somebody so they can get people out here. We'll get people out to take care of it and rope it off and keep an eye on them."
It's likely that more sightings along Puget Sound beaches and the Pacific coast will happen as pupping continues.
If you see a harbor seal pup or a mother seal like this one on a beach or on a dock, and you're concerned, do not touch it or feed it. If you get too close, you may cause the mom to abandon the pup, according to SR3.
Harbor seal pups spend much of their time out of the water on beaches, warming up or resting. It is common for moms to leave healthy pups for short periods of time to hunt for food.
The website also has the Washington state phone numbers listed by region for marine life reports. They are listed at the bottom of this story.
According to SR3's Instagram, three more harbor seal pups came into the Rescue Center on Friday due to maternal abandonment. The group is urging people to keep their distance from marine mammals resting along the shore and to keep pets on a leash so seal moms and pups can stay together in the wild.
Here's the list NOAA provides:
- Whatcom County
- Phone: (360) 966-8845
- San Juan Islands
- Phone: (800) 562-8832
- Whidbey and Camano Islands, Skagit County, and North Snohomish County
- Phone: (866) ORCANET
- Seattle to Kayak Point
- Phone: (206) 695-2277
- West Seattle
- Phone: (206) 905-7325
- Fauntleroy Ferry south to Dash Point
- Phone: (206) 724-2687
- Pierce County, Kitsap County, and Grays Harbor and part of northern Pacific County (for pinnipeds)
- Phone: (253) 208-2427
- Thurston County, western shoreline of the Hood Canal to Brinnon, and the outer coast of Washington (cetaceans)
- Phone: (360) 791-9555
- Eastern Jefferson County and part of eastern Clallam County. Port Townsend east to the Hood Canal Bridge, south to Brinnon and west to Sequim Bay also including the Miller Peninsula
- Phone: (360) 385-5582 x 103
- East of Port Angeles to Makah Reservation Line
- Phone: (360) 417-6254
- Vashon and Maury Islands
- Phone: (253) 777-1775
- Makah Territory (Neah Bay, WA)
- Phone: (360) 640-0569
- Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County
- Phone: (503) 738-6211