Four harbor seals have been rescued and brought to the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward over the last two weeks. One, discovered this past Sunday, was rescued from a Nikiski beach, while the other three were rescued from the Copper River near Cordova in three separate sightings.
In Nikiski, a newborn female pup was rescued from a crowded fishing beach this weekend, according to a report from the SeaLife Center. It says she was observed on the beach for several hours, with no adult seals around. Concerned anglers called the stranded marine mammal hotline, and she was brought to the SeaLife Center, where the veterinary team estimated she was less than two days old.
The other three pups from the Copper River were all admitted to the SeaLife Center in less than 72 hours, between May 21 and May 23. All three were reported by individuals on fishing boats, who saw no adult seals around. Those three pups, two females and a male, were all under a week old, and still had their umbilical cords attached, according to a report from the center.
These pups were the first seal patients admitted to the SeaLife center in 2023. Newborn harbor seal pups cannot survive on their own, so the center was authorized to take them into their care.
If you see a stranded marine mammal, you can call the 24-hour hotline at 1-888-774-7325.