Saving seal pups

Jacob Nierenberg

Jacob Nierenberg Jun 21, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

Republish Article

You can republish articles in print or online. Simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline, and credit to Cascade PBS. Republishing of the photos or videos embedded in an article can occur only if the photo or video is a copyright of Cascade Public Media ("CPM") and not of a third party. Photos and videos that are a copyright of CPM are not required to appear in the republished article, but if they are used, they must be embedded where they appear in the original article and must include the attribution to the CPM photographer.

You may reprint in any medium
You may edit only for tense and timeliness
If republishing in print you can edit for length if you follow our print republishing guidelines.
You may write your own headline
Include a byline and shirttail with credit and link to Cascade PBS
Include our tracking pixel
Remove if we ask

          <article>
            <header>
              <hgroup>
                <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>
              </hgroup>
               <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>
            </header>
            <p><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/news/feature/2015/08/19/22719480/hey-seattleites-stop-trying-to-save-seal-pups?ref=avalancheghost.one">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=avalancheghost.one">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.

Our members' donations make local journalism happen.

Support once for $1

Support monthly for $7

Cascade PBS Passport
Mossback members-only newsletter
Print Viewer Guide (opt-in)

Support monthly for $25

Invitation to quarterly news and original programming video conference
Annual in-person meet-up with news & programming teams
Special event perks (reduced price or free tickets, cocktails, etc.)

Continue

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