Southeast : Don’t Touch the Baby Seals

“Don’t pet the pups” is the message of the moment for beachgoers.

Pupping season for harbor seals in California has started, and the Long Beach office of the National Marine Fisheries Service is reminding the public to stay away from baby seals lying alone on the shore.

Harbor seals, distinguishable from sea lions by their spotted fur, give birth on land or in the surf and leave their pups unattended on the beach while they forage for food in the water, said fishery biologist Irma Lagomarsino.

Sometimes a well-intentioned individual mistakes a solitary pup as being sick or abandoned and picks it up or moves it--and in a few cases brings it home. The mother may then be unable to find her baby seal.

“It happens every so often and has resulted in abandonment,” Lagomarsino said.

A pup found on the beach in one of the five mainland harbor-seal colonies south of Point Conception should be watched from afar, she said, preferably out of sight of the mother seal that is probably nearby. If several hours pass before she rejoins her pup, concerned observers should contact the fisheries service at (310) 980-4020.

But don’t touch or move the animal. Harbor seals are protected by federal law. Fines for disturbing, harassing or harming them run as high as $10,000.