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Don't Touch Baby Seals, Remind Oregon Coast Officials

Baby seal lounging on beach (photo Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium)

(Oregon Coast) - They’re cute, cuddly, and oh-so tempting to go and pet and play with. Plus, they look lonely and abandoned on the beach, and this brings out some paternal instincts in you to go and help.

But you’re not helping - you’re doing far more damage by attempting to “help” a baby seal on the beach.

Officials on the Oregon coast are getting anxious again as baby seal season kickstarts right about now. Little cuddly, fuzzy harbor seal pups will start showing up on the beaches in greater numbers soon, just as the numbers of tourists begin to increase.

Don’t touch them under any circumstance, say officials, because they’re mothers are waiting nearby.

Tiffany Boothe, of the Seaside Aquarium, said sometimes when these adorable creatures wander onto the beach, the public is temped to grab them or otherwise mistake them for being in danger or in need of saving. But that is not the case, and you should leave them alone.

If you see a seal on the beach, do not assume it’s been abandoned by its mother, said Boothe. In fact, if anything the opposite is true.

“Well-meaning people who remove seal pups from beaches are eliminating the possibility of the pup being reunited with their mother,” said Tiffany Boothe, of the Seaside Aquarium. “They’re also violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and they may face criminal and or civil penalties. The best thing for you to do is to keep well away from this seal pup, thereby reducing stress on the pup and or alarming its mother.”

Already one pup has shown up at Warrenton, said Keith Chandler, manager of the aquarium. It appeared in the vicinity of boat docks and had some local fishermen concerned – and rightly so. Aquarium staff – who are also part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network – responded to the scene and posted signs that said to stay away.

“We’ve already had this one, and I’m sure there will be more as the year goes on,” Chandler said.

Harbor seal pupping season is now through July, Chandler said, but you may find some in August and September.

“They’re just fine on land,” Chandler said. “Their mothers are waiting for them somewhere nearby. And she won’t come back to get the seal until the people are gone. Yeah, they’re cute and all that. That’s great. Just leave them alone.

“They are just little babies, and like any baby, they need to sleep a lot. That’s what they’re onshore doing.”

Last year in April, two seal pups wandered up in different areas of the north coast – both of them apparently newborn. These were some of the more serious interferences by humans in recent years.

One arrived on the waterfront at Astoria, where it was picked up by a man police described as “difficult to communicate with.” He walked around town with it until he was nabbed by police.

Boothe poses with an especially adorable baby seal after setting up signs making sure the public stays away

The other wandered up to a spot south of Cannon Beach, where several people attempted to put it back in the water. Later, someone’s dog attacked the cuddly little guy.

The baby seal that was bitten by a dog was soon picked up by a well-meaning man who noticed its wounds. The wounds were not life threatening, but the man took the little creature a few miles up the road to Mo’s Chowder in Cannon Beach. There, staff called the aquarium, which in turn told him to take it back to where he found it.

The important thing to remember, say aquarium officials, is that the mother needs to be able to find it again.

Also coming up in the summertime and spring is the molting season for elephant seal yearlings. At the end of their first year, these larger critters wind up on the beach, shedding skin and fur, often visibly in pain.

Elephant seal molting on the beach at Manzanita (photo Boothe)

These too are protected under the law and should be left alone for different reasons, besides the fact they’ll probably bite you if you get too close. These creatures are about five feet in length as well, so they’re considerably larger and more dangerous than a seal pup. This is just part of their normal life process. As unpleasant as it may seem, there’s nothing you can do or should do.

Elephant seal molting season happens now through the fall, Chandler said.

There are other problems with touching these, or any other creatures washed up on the beach – especially the dead bodies of mammals or fish.

Boothe said touching these creatures presents possible health problems. Any kind of marine mammal found dead or alive poses a potential health risk, and untrained people coming into contact with them risk exposing themselves, domestic animals and marine mammals to various types of diseases.

In 2006, Boothe and Chandler were alerted to various dead marine mammals that had washed up on shore, including a sea lion whose head had been removed. Such actions, say Boothe and Chandler, seriously pose a risk to those who had perpetrated such illegal acts.

Chandler inspects a wounded sea lion near Astoria - an angry and unpleasant creature that should really be left alone as these are dangerous

Chandler said others in the past have done a variety of really stupid things when it comes to stranded seal pups. One group a few years ago picked the pup up and kept it in the bathtub of their hotel room, then called the aquarium.

Other people have grabbed the creatures and kept them in their car for a while as well.

“We can’t take these or rehabilitate them,” Booth said. “So we always tell them to take them back to where they found them. Otherwise, their mother can’t find them.”

Disease is one of many reasons the aquarium cannot accept or help seals on the beach: they can’t risk infecting their current pool full of seals.

To report other incidents of marine mammal strandings on Oregon beaches, call 1-800-452-7888.

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