The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) admitted a newborn harbor seal pup to the Wildlife Response Program on June 4, 2024. The abandoned pup was rescued from Kenai Beach.
An initial call came to the ASLC Wildlife Response Department from a concerned local, who spotted the lone seal while walking along Kenai North beach at night. Pictures sent to the team showed the pup was skinny with its umbilical cord still attached, indicating it was less than a week old. In addition to its poor body condition, the pup’s mother had not been seen for many hours.
With approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ASLC volunteers set out to retrieve the pup. Unfortunately, the group was not able to locate it that night. The next morning, a second call came from the Kenai Peninsula Police Department, fielding a stranded pup report from a second concerned observer. After confirming the seal was the same one reported the previous night, ASLC staff worked with police officers and Kenai Animal Control to arrange a pickup.
The initial caller agreed to wait with the pup until animal control arrived to place the pup in a kennel, and a police officer provided transport back to the Kenai Beach parking lot. The pup was then handed off to a volunteer and driven back to the ASLC.
After an admit exam, the wildlife response and veterinary staff confirmed that the pup was both dehydrated and underweight. The team is currently providing initial stabilizing treatments and examining the patient further to understand the severity of its condition. With this new admit, the wildlife response team now has four harbor seal pups under its care.
Updates on current patients will be shared on the ASLC’s Facebook and Instagram pages as they become available.
The Alaska SeaLife Center’s Wildlife Response Program can only provide care for stranded and injured marine animals with help from corporate sponsors and individual donors. The Center acknowledges the ongoing generous support of the Wildlife Response Program from supporters like ConocoPhillips Alaska, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, PetZoo, Partners 4 Wildlife, Matson, GCI, and a number of individual donors, funds, and foundations such as Stanley J Williams Fund and the Theresa Bannister Legacy Fund.
Those interested in contributing to the care of these patients can visit the ASLC’s website: www.alaskasealife.org/donate. Call first! Before approaching an injured or stranded marine animal in Alaska, call the 24-hour Stranded Marine Animal Hotline at 1-888-774-SEAL(7325).
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