Saving seal pups

Jacob Nierenberg

Jacob Nierenberg Jan 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018

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          <article>
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                <h1>Saving seal pups</h1>
                <h2><p>A Stranger article seeks to confront a troubling trend on West Seattle beaches—people who see seals washed up on beaches and, thinking they need saving, approach the seals. What people don’t realize is that seal pups on beaches are completely natural. During the summer months, mother seals leave</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/jacob-nierenberg-crosscut-com/">Jacob Nierenberg</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/news/feature/2015/08/19/22719480/hey-seattleites-stop-trying-to-save-seal-pups?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">A Stranger article</a> seeks to confront a troubling trend on West Seattle beaches—people who see seals washed up on beaches and, thinking they need saving, approach the seals. What people don’t realize is that seal pups on beaches are completely natural. During the summer months, mother seals leave their young alone on the beach so that they can learn how to fend for themselves. Human attempts to help frequently result in the pup getting sick, being abandoned by its mother or, in the worst-case scenarios, dying. Federal law prohibits people from getting within 100 yards of seals, so if you see one, do not approach it or feed it; call trained volunteers <a href="http://www.sealsitters.org/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">Seal Sitters</a> at 206-905-7325, and if you see someone engaging a seal, you can call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hotline at 1-800-853-1964.</p>
          </article>

A Stranger article seeks to confront a troubling trend on West Seattle beaches—people who see seals washed up on beaches and, thinking they need saving, approach the seals. What people don’t realize is that seal pups on beaches are completely natural. During the summer months, mother seals leave their young alone on the beach so that they can learn how to fend for themselves. Human attempts to help frequently result in the pup getting sick, being abandoned by its mother or, in the worst-case scenarios, dying. Federal law prohibits people from getting within 100 yards of seals, so if you see one, do not approach it or feed it; call trained volunteers Seal Sitters at 206-905-7325, and if you see someone engaging a seal, you can call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hotline at 1-800-853-1964.

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By Jacob Nierenberg

Jacob Nierenberg is an editorial intern at Crosscut. He has lived in Washington for nearly all of his life, and still proudly identifies with the Pacific Northwest despite his relocation to Stanford U