WildWatchcams

Live Sealcam • Sealcam

Video • Sharing the Shore with Harbor Seal Pups in Washington State • Sealcam pre-recorded videos • Interview with Dyanna Lambourn, WDFW Biologist

Want to Learn More? • General Natural History of the Harbor Seal • Seal Research and Studies • Sharing the Shore with Harbor Seal Pups in Washington State WDFW & NOAA • The Life of a Harbor Seal Pup: From Birth to Weaning Photographic Story • Life and Death on Seal Haul Out Photographic Series

Reports and Abstracts • Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in Southern Puget Sound, Washington • Temporal trends in contaminants In Puget Sound harbor seal

SEALS

Life and Death on a Seal Haul-out

• What is a Seal Haul-out?
• Mother and Pup Interactions
• Sharing the Seal Haul-out

Seal photos and video footage were taken by Dyanna Lambourn, WDFW biologist

Click the photos to view a larger image.

What is a Seal Haul-out?

A sandy beach harbor seal haul-out with tide coming in.

Mothers with pups tend to haul-out at the fringes of larger
groups or will haul-out in special mother-pup groups.

A male harbor seal in the center of a local haul-out.

A female harbor seal and pup basking on small
grassy beach near a main seal haul-out.

Mother and Pup Interactions

A pup nursing from it's mother.	A blind female is seen here with her newborn pup. Biologists notice that she maintains greater contact with her pup. Blind seal mothers have successfully raised pups despite their loss of sight.
Older pup making contact with mother seal. Notice the lack of external ear flaps which is a identification character of the harbor seal.	Tense moment on the beach where mothering hormones drive a pregnant female (seal on the left) to attempt to steal a pup from another female. Biologists say this situation was resolved peacefully.

Sharing the Seal Haul-out

The killdeer is a common shore bird of the gravel and sandy beaches and this downy chick is mobile soon after hatching	Gulls, crows, eagles and other scavengers, along with opportunistic predators frequent haul-outs during the pupping season to feed on birthing remains, dead, injured or unattended newborn pups.
Common loons may frequent protected waters in fall or winter to feed.	A Bonaparte's Gull and Common Tern were captured on film at this haul-out area.
Coyotes prowl the seal-haul outs feeding on nearby berries and will prey on sickly seals or unattended pups.	Raccoons are a common resident near haul-out areas with extensive beaches and nearby woodlands.
Near sandy haul-outs beaches may be covered by sand dollars a small flat relative of the sea urchin.	Female with radio tag that is attached with bio-adhesive and allows for movements to be tracked.
The great blue heron frequents haul-outs and beaches at low tide in search of exposed small crabs, fish and shellfish.