Boating Time and SEAL Pup Time Everywhere in the San Juan Islands

     Is it okay to touch or move baby seals?    

No, it is a violation of the marine mammal laws and you may get in a lot of trouble.

You have probably noticed that new pups are out with their moms on all the rocks and reefs. 

Pups left alone may not be abandoned. Sometimes pups are left alone while the mom forages, or she may see you and stay away.

If you get too close they slip into the water so there is no doubt they prefer we keep our distance.

         Of note, though, we have on two occasions this summer come across lost or seemingly abandoned pups.  At Inati Bay a pup spent much of the evening and next morning crying.  It swam to each arriving boat and then attempted to suckle the hull, circling the boat all the while crying and trying to nurse.  Apparently, from underwater, bottom paints may be confused for moms.

          At Matia, we noticed a pup doing the same thing.  As each new boat came to the dock or anchored out, the pup swam to it.  We dinghied around the island and saw hundreds of moms with pups in the water and hauled up on rocks.  When we returned to Rolfe Cove the pup came to our dinghy and suckled the fiberglass hull. It was really sad looking up at us with big watery eyes while making sucking sounds on the boat and then on the wooden oar.

         That evening, as the sun went down, we saw the pup work its way up onto the beach beneath the gangplank.  It was there in the morning, still by itself..  We called the marine mammal stranding hotline to report it, but who knows what happened.

        We talked to the volunteer on the phone, and they said sometimes people getting too close will cause pups and moms to separate and then become lost.

We didn't attempt to touch this little guy, but it sure seemed like he
 wanted to be cuddled

The suckling sounds were unmistakable as he worked his way around the boats again and again.

Settling in for the night as the sun set.