FOLLOWUP: About the sea-lion sightings at Don Armeni Boat Ramp
Our featured photo atop Friday’s West Seattle event list was that of a California Sea Lion hanging out at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, photographed the previous day by Jan Pendergrass. As we always do when we get a report and/or photo about a marine mammal ashore, we asked if Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network had been notified, and she assured us they had. Today, Seal Sitters’ David Hutchinson provides us with more photos and the backstory on what happened:
(Photos by David Hutchinson, Seal Sitters MMSN)
The Seal Sitters Hotline received a call Thursday afternoon concerning a sea lion on one of the docks at the Don Armeni Boat Ramp. A responder was sent to assess the situation and additional volunteers were contacted.
While sea lions commonly do use docks to rest, it’s unusual for them to haul out at this location, so our NOAA network partner SR3 was contacted for assistance with a visual health assessment. SR3 operates a marine mammal hospital in Des Moines, south of Seattle, and Seal Sitters always appreciates their expertise when questions come up about a marine mammal’s condition. The consensus was that this animal, while a bit thin, at this time was just using the dock to rest. Seal Sitters maintained a presence, monitoring its condition.
A few hours later, the first sea lion was joined by a second one. We want to thank the boaters for their cooperation in giving these animals space to rest by launching and retrieving their boats from the other dock. In our urban environment, there are limited areas where marine mammals can safely rest. Both of these animals returned to the waters of Elliott Bay later in the evening.
Seal Sitters had some questions about a possible brand on the first sea lion and some circular marks on the second one. After a study of photographs taken at the site, KC Scofield, SR3’s Response Program Coordinator, determined that they were familiar with the first sea lion on the dock. He was nicknamed “Oscar” by locals in the Des Moines marina, where he resided for some time last winter. He was “treated in the field” for what appeared to be an infected jaw injury. That injury is still visible in Thursday’s photo but no longer appears infected. SR3 provided us with the following links to learn more about Oscar’s story: here and here.
KC also felt that the circular marks on the second sea lion were likely bite marks from a “Cookie Cutter shark.” She mentioned that “Marine mammals are often the favorite snack of these little sharks and while the bites may look bad, they recover quite well from them.”
Seal Sitters and SR3 are members of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Seal Sitters covers the West Seattle shoreline from Brace Point through Harbor Island and the Duwamish River. Our Hotline is staffed from 8 AM – 8 PM every day of the week. Please report any marine mammal you come across on the beach, alive or dead, or if you feel that an animal in the water is in distress. You can leave a voice mail if calling during other hours.
The hotline number is 206-905-SEAL – that’s 206-905-7325.
from West Seattle Blog… https://ift.tt/njb8tkc
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment