This great seal-pup video has been making the rounds. In case you haven’t seen it yet …
Ethan Janson, a local windsurfer from Three Tree Point (south of Seattle) noticed that harbor seals were hauling out on a surfboard he’d tied to a buoy out in Puget Sound. He hooked up a GoPro camera, remotely, and captured this footage of a seal pup trying desperately to haul out on the slippery board.
Before posting this, I checked the Seal Sitters page to make sure they were supportive of the video and content. They were. In fact, in their commentary on Janson’s film they mention that floating platforms can provide valuable and safe haul out areas for seals and seal pups.
From their post Surfin’ seals are YouTube sensation:
Seeing a number of seal pups struggle to share the small board, Ethan and his neighbor Ron decided to build a platform for seals and contacted Seal Sitters for advice. We put him in touch with wildlife raft guru Guy Smith (who built the first platform south of Alki Beach), who generously offered sage help and detailed instructions. In the spring of 2012, they established an offshore platform at Three Tree Point which is used regularly by seals of all ages.
Here’s the video. Prepare for cuteness (sorry, it’s unavoidable):
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Totally precious! Love those adorable whiskers! <3
So glad Spotty didn’t give up trying — proving that perseverance with a good purpose always wins! 🙂
“Welcome to Blubberblog.org — Home of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network” is a mouthful, but is just as enticing to say as the climbing-aboard-and-resting seal pups are to watch.
I have three ceramic seals — one white harp pup from Canada and two pewter-gray harbor adults “born” in Maine. They hang out on a beachy-looking white wooden side table with their friends — ceramic whales, dolphins, and sea otters (no sea lions in the mix — yet).
Thanks for spreading the joy, Ingrid. It’s soooo possible in this tech age to appreciate and admire all fellow earthlings “up close” without being in their presence and violating their personal space. In other words, thanks to remote cameras and surboard gurus, it’s soooo possible to do unto others — leave them in peace, undisturbed — as we would want done for ourselves.