What to Do If You Encounter a Curious Harbor Seal

The post What to Do If You Encounter a Curious Harbor Seal appeared first on A-Z Animals.

If you ever plan on scuba diving in the coastal waters of Europe, Asia, or North America, you need to learn a bit about handling a seal encounter first. Many seals, including the harbor seal shown in this YouTube video, are unbelievably cute and majestic. However, though many folks may consider them the “puppy dogs of the sea,” that doesn’t mean you should try to hug them. In fact, doing so may put you and the seal in danger. Let’s learn more about this species so you can be fully prepared if you come across this adorable creature.

What is the Harbor Seal?

There are 18 different species of true seals (family Phocidae) alive today. That cute seal in the YouTube video is the harbor seal, which has five subspecies classified by their geographic location. The subspecies are:

• Western Pacific harbor seal
• Eastern Pacific harbor seal
• Eastern Atlantic harbor seal
• Western Atlantic harbor seal
• Seal Lake harbor seal

As you can see, there are many places around the world where you may run into a harbor seal during your scuba diving adventures. You’ll likely recognize this species when you see it up close. One distinguishing feature is its size. They are a smaller species, typically reaching only six feet in length and weighing up to 250 pounds. Other varieties, such as the bull seal, are much larger.

Harbor seals are typically gray, silver, or white and often have black or white spots. Rare harbor seals will have a reddish body.

How Common is a Seal Encounter?

If you go on a trip to a place where harbor seals typically call home, the chances of spotting them are high. Harbor seals are widely distributed and considered common in many coastal areas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, with a global population estimated at 610,000–640,000 individuals. You have a greater chance of seeing them if you are near rocky shorelines.

You often don’t even need to be in the water to come across a seal. Harbor seals haul out, which is another way of saying that they regularly come out of the water to rest, give birth, nurse their pups, molt, interact with other seals, and regulate their body temperature. If you see seals on the beach, there will also likely be some in the water, so be careful.

What about when you’re in the water? Well, harbor seals are naturally curious animals, which is why you’ll often see them sticking their heads out of the water to look around. Sometimes, seals will also follow a person as they walk on land, though they usually do so at a distance. While harbor seals are generally not very social, it is rare but possible for an individual to approach humans, as seen in the video.

Are Harbor Seals Dangerous?

Harbor seals are carnivorous. Typically, the meat they eat includes smaller fish, ranging from flounder and salmon to sardines and anchovies. Sometimes, they’ll eat squid, octopus, and other invertebrates. Harbor seals have two sharp front teeth for tearing their food. They also have strong back molars for crushing the shells of the crustaceans they eat.

As you may have noticed in the video, harbor seals also have claws that are hard to unsee once you notice them. The claws are sharp for a seal, but in contrast to other predators, they’re actually quite blunt. They’re mostly used for grooming, scratching, catching prey, and occasionally for defense.

The question is, with their sharp teeth and scary claws, are harbor seals likely to attack if you get too close? Probably not. They may try to scratch or bite if you get overly aggressive, but generally prefer to avoid close contact with humans.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act

The description below the YouTube video states that you should never touch a harbor seal, even if it approaches you. They say that the reason is due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Is that true?

To be exact, the Marine Mammal Protection Act is a federal law that was put in place in 1972 to protect marine animals in United States waters. The act prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, which includes hunting, harassing, capturing, or killing, or attempting to do any of these, without a permit, and also prohibits importing them without a permit. The main idea of the legislation is to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem.

So, if the diver in the video had accidentally rubbed his hand against that harbor seal, would the federal officials swoop in and send him to prison? Probably not. However, the point is that you never know what could happen if you touch or disturb a seal. Would it become stressed and try to defend itself against you? In that case, you could be hurt. What if you carried an illness or something else that could harm the seal? Since we can’t predict every risk, it’s essential to keep our distance to protect both ourselves and the animals.

How to Handle a Seal Encounter

There’s a lot of information here, but let’s bring it down to the basics. Keep your distance if you see a seal or a group of seals on the beach. If one comes near you while you’re underwater, do as the diver did. Enjoy the show, but don’t touch it, and don’t panic or make any sudden movements. The seal will likely eventually lose interest and move on. Then, you should slowly make your way back to shore. 

Once safely on the beach, take the time to reflect on the wonderful experience you were able to share with one of nature’s most majestic creatures. It will likely be an experience you will never forget.

The post What to Do If You Encounter a Curious Harbor Seal appeared first on A-Z Animals.