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Update: Baby Seal Followed Up Oregon Coast

(Seaside, Oregon) – A baby seal pup that captured the attention of the state for about 24 hours has moved on, say authorities.

Sunday afternoon, the tiny, adorable creature wandered onto a beach at the southern end of Seaside. The Seaside Aquarium - part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network - responded to the scene and put up signs making sure the public stayed at least 50 feet away.

After photographs of the seal pup were passed onto the media by BeachConnection.net, the photos and story appeared in almost every television news broadcast possible for the bulk of Monday, creating coo's and "awwww's" from on-air staff each time it ran.

By eight o' clock Monday morning, aquarium manager Keith Chandler had received two calls that it had been spotted at the Turnaround in Seaside, and then in Gearhart, a few miles north.

"I found the trail of it on the beach, but no seal," said Chandler by cell phone, while walking around Gearhart. "It's gone."

The seal pup originally wandered up to "the cove," an area popular with surfers, just below the north face of Tillamook Head.

“It just came up because it was tired,” said Tiffany Boothe, with the aquarium. “It’s a baby, and like all babies, it sleeps a lot. Its mother is probably just out there hunting for food, and will soon be back.”

Boothe said the seal pup had obviously wandered up at high tide, and the four-foot trail was visible where it had the scooted along in the dry sand to its current resting spot.

For BeachConnection.net and the Oregon Coast Show, it was a case of being at the right place at the right time.

The Oregon Coast Show was in the middle of filming a segment with BeachConnection.net at the Seaside Aquarium on Sunday afternoon about 5 p.m., when aquarium staff received a call about the seal pup.

"That was just incredible to be there and be able to film that," said Rick Gibson, a producer of the Oregon Coast Show.

The furry little creature spent considerable time napping as BeachConnection.net, Oregon Coast Show and aquarium staff hovered around it.

Boothe took some measurements and other observations, and determined it to be a male, born in recent months. It was about two feet long. Boothe also took a GPS reading, so Marine Mammal Stranding Network scientists could later make observations on any movements it might make.

Aquarium staff posted signs to keep people at least 50 feet back, which is also Oregon law. The public must keep their pets away as well.

“People often mistakenly believe they are in trouble when they’re not,” Boothe said. “They’re not stranded. They’re just resting.”

All those responding to the scene were charmed by the adorable seal, which looked more like a stuffed animal. Even Boothe, seen here, was smitten.

She said visitors to the coast have done crazy things in the past while trying to "assist" a seal pup on the beach. Aquarium staff have answered calls from tourists who had picked up the seal pups and put them in their bathtubs back at their motel rooms, carried them around in their cars, or tried to drop them off at the aquarium.

If you see a mammal on the beach, do not touch it or disturb it. Call authorities to let them know.

Not only do they not require your help, but it is illegal to do so.

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