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Clearing up Harbor Seal misconceptions!
Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:15 pm
by gcbryan
I've seen some misconceptions posted every now and then regarding Harbor Seals. The bottom line is that our Harbor Seals stay in this area year round and mothers don't stay with their pups after about 6 weeks (after weening).
I thought I would go to someone more authoritative than me (lol!) so here is part of an email from Traci Belting who is the Curator of Mammals and Birds at the Seattle Aquarium.
Although Harbor seals are year round residents in Puget Sound, they move around within the area seasonally following food sources and answering the call of the wild. Seals will haul out on beaches during the breeding season with females forming harem like groups and dominant males staying close by. One such breeding ground in Anderson Island. Even less dominant males that don't have a chance at getting "a date" will stay near the female haul out areas during this season. During the summer and into late fall, individual animals will also haul out to molt. This is when they shed their old coat and a gorgeous new coat grows in. Being dry helps with this process.
Its true that moms only nurse their pups for approximately 4-6 weeks and then they abandon them. The pups are totally on their own and everything they need to know to survive is hard wired into them ...pretty strong instinct! That doesn't mean that observational learning doesn't occur and a younger animal may follow an older one. Usually the mom does not stay near her pup or the little bugger would opportunistically continue to nurse if it got a chance (it is the mom that initiates weaning, not the pup).
Seals are fairly solitary animals and don't usually form the tight social bonds that say a sea lion might, but that doesn't mean that you won't find seals together from time to time especially if their is a good food source near by. Some seals are just more social than others and might hang out near others..... another seal might be more tolerant of a social seal than another so there are no hard and fast rules.
For those of you who frequently see Harbor Seals at Cove 2 at night in the winter this may be of some interest.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:27 pm
by WylerBear
Very interesting info. Thanks, Gray.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:19 pm
by Dmitchell
One thing I find interesting is that you guys seem to see Harbor Seals frequently while diving down in that area. Here in Southeast Alaska, we have alot of Harbor seals, but it's really rare to see one while diving.
We see Stellar Sea Lions all the time but the only seal I've ever seen was in Nanaimo.
Dave
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:25 pm
by gcbryan
Dmitchell wrote:One thing I find interesting is that you guys seem to see Harbor Seals frequently while diving down in that area. Here in Southeast Alaska, we have alot of Harbor seals, but it's really rare to see one while diving.
We see Stellar Sea Lions all the time but the only seal I've ever seen was in Nanaimo.
Dave
I think some are social and some aren't. There is usually a Sea Lion on a barge not far from Cove 2 and I never see Sea Lion's while diving at Cove 2. At other locations they are sometimes seen while diving. I think it depends on the animal.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:48 pm
by Dmitchell
Could be, we have Stellar's everywhere here so very it's common to see them on a dive. My buddy has a video of a dive they did where 6 lions hung with them the whole dive.
I had my OW class out for dive #1 a couple weeks ago. We got buzzed several times by a young lion during that dive. The students were thrilled!
Dave
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:00 pm
by CaptnJack
I saw my first Cove2 sea lion just last Sunday. Rather surprising. I also saw a harbor seal
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:03 pm
by gcbryan
CaptnJack wrote:I saw my first Cove2 sea lion just last Sunday. Rather surprising. I also saw a harbor seal
Nice! I saw one asleep on the surface just above the Honeybear once.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:58 pm
by CaptnJack
Yeah I just started seeing sea lions in abundance this year, 3x in the past couple months. Its been slim pickins for me in the past. Are they more common this year than previously?? I should ask Traci next time I'm there.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:12 pm
by Burntchef
ive seen them for the past 6 or so dives at cove 2. me and nailer did the cove2 to cove 3 boundary and we were followed the whole time. really cool the first few times then it gets real old.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:17 pm
by gcbryan
Burntchef wrote:ive seen them for the past 6 or so dives at cove 2. me and nailer did the cove2 to cove 3 boundary and we were followed the whole time. really cool the first few times then it gets real old.
You saw Sea Lion's that many times or Harbor Seals?
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:12 pm
by lamont
i've never seen a sea lion during a dive.
lots of harbor seals.
tonight there was a big one that was fishing using our lights. at one point the seal was actually stalking a fish by sitting motionless behind some pilings while we lit the fish up with HIDs. the seal let us get very close to it as long as we were participating in the hunt. the lucky fish got away, however, because the seal wasn't quite patient enough and struck too soon...
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:30 pm
by Burntchef
gcbryan wrote:Burntchef wrote:ive seen them for the past 6 or so dives at cove 2. me and nailer did the cove2 to cove 3 boundary and we were followed the whole time. really cool the first few times then it gets real old.
You saw Sea Lion's that many times or Harbor Seals?
ooops i meant harbor seals, either way there all silt monsters