If you see a young seal on the beach, let it rest. The months of May and June are pupping season for harbour seals, and females nurse for 4 to 6 weeks from May to early July. During this period, pups can often be seen alone on the beach while females return to the water to feed. Young seals may \u201cwhine\u201d for their mothers, which is when they are sometimes mistaken for animals in distress. The Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network reminds us not to intervene, but rather to let the animal rest and let nature take its course.<\/p>\n
Harbour seals are weaned between mid-June and late July. In order to concentrate their energy on growing and temperature regulation, seal pups often rest out of the water, sometimes on busy beaches. Though they might remain there for a few hours or even a few days, they should not be considered to be abandoned. Oftentimes, they are unaware of the various dangers lurching and don\u2019t respond to an approaching human<\/p>\n
For your well-being and that of the seal, Marine Mammal Emergencies requests that you respect nature and refrain from intervening with young seals<\/strong><\/p>\n A seal touched by a human may be a doomed seal: pups that are handled by humans are often abandoned by their mothers. Because at this time of the year seal pups are not yet weaned and have not yet learned all they need to know to survive on their own, the loss of contact with their mothers can be fatal. In addition, a heavy human presence around the animal can prevent the female from returning.<\/p>\n What should you do if you see a young seal on the beach?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n + Keep your distance<\/strong> (at least 50 metres), and, ideally, leave the area so that the mother can return to the pup and the latter can rest. If the seal follows you, leave the area immediately.<\/p>\n + Refrain from touching the seal<\/strong>, attempting to feed it, forcing it to return to the water or interacting with it in any manner; it is illegal to disturb any marine mammal.<\/p>\n + Be cautious!<\/strong> Bear in mind that these are wild animals that are unpredictable and can become aggressive or bite. Even if they are small and often appear harmless and endearing, seals have teeth and can become aggressive when defending themselves.<\/p>\n + Keep dogs on a leash<\/strong>. A dog left to roam free might approach the seal, increasing the latter\u2019s stress levels and provoking aggressive reactions that might cause injury to your pet.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you see a young seal on the beach, let it rest. The months of May and June are pupping season for harbour seals, and females nurse for 4 to 6 weeks from May to early July. During this period, pups can often be seen alone on the beach while females return to the water […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":44411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marine-mammal-emergencies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n