By MaryBeth Dagg
There’s quite a buzz around town, and it includes recent sightings of Otis Redding, the Duke, E.T., Woody and Queen Latifah here on our own Alki beach.

These non-celebrities are leading players in a drama unfolding on our West Seattle beaches and are actually just a few of the many harbor seals that “haul out” on our beaches throughout the year.

Seal sightings are just one of the joys of living in our beach community, but the combination of these cute creatures, people and pets can be dangerous. They’re adorable. We’re curious. And that’s where the trouble begins. Truth is, only 50 percent of seal pups make it alive out of their first year and human interaction can be extremely hazardous to their survival. If beach-goers get too close or leave their scent on a seal pup, the mother can easily be scared away or even not recognize her own pup, leading to abandonment. People need to know that feeding, moving or covering up a seal for warmth can have fatal consequences.

Brenda Peterson helped establish the volunteer-run group, Seal Sitters, in 2007 for just these reasons. This West Seattle-based organization’s mission is to ensure the safety of these vulnerable marine animals.

“We identified the need for sitters after a bumper crop of baby seals showed up during the pupping season, which is in summer to early fall,” said Peterson. “There was a seal on the beach nearly every day and some were showing up in the middle of beach volleyball games or family picnics. They don’t realize the need to protect themselves from people and pets.”

Sometimes seals come on to the beach because they are sick. But most of the time, seals come ashore to digest food, rest, regulate their temperature, give birth, nurse their young, or just wait for mom to return from fishing.

Seal Sitter volunteers are trained by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and are highly skilled and dedicated in their jobs. They do this by being on-call to any seal-sighting dispatches, getting to the beach and staking out an area 100 yards around the pup. They also check for any distress or signs of illness, photograph any evidence and contact the NOAA if necessary for a consultation. Most importantly, they sit and wait. The group provides 24-hour surveillance until the seal returns to the water or the mother comes to retrieve her pup. Meanwhile, the Seal Sitters keep the onlookers at bay and educate anyone who has the urge to get too close. They are a tireless group, and they could use some help.

“We are in great need of more volunteers,” said Peterson. “This November has been the busiest seal season on record. We currently have 25 volunteers who are extremely dedicated and capable. They are handling an enormous work load this season and we need to increase our ranks.” To volunteer or more information, go to the group’s website at www.sealsitter.org.

For those who want to learn more about our local marine mammal stars, Seal Sitters keeps an entertaining and rather addictive blog that tracks the activities of all our local seal visitors, along with their Seal-Sitter-assigned names, current locations and potential hazards to watch for. Get to know them at www.blubberblog.com.

How you can help:
Safe Sitters need your:
Time. Volunteers of all ages are needed, especially dispatchers and educators. To learn more about our local seals or become a volunteer Seal Sitter, go to www.sealsitters.org.
Funds. Send checks to Seal Sitters, 4701 SW Admiral Way SW, #275, Seattle, WA 98116
Services. The group needs experts in accounting, non-profit legal advice and nonprofit small business consulting. For those with construction abilities, the group needs rafts to place off shore as a safer place for seals to haul out than a public beach.

If you see a seal on the beach:
Leave it alone. It’s the law. Human encroachment can stress the pup and scare the mother and other adult seals away. It’s for their safety and yours, since they may bite or carry communicable diseases.
Do not wrap a pup in blankets (seals are protected by blubber and blankets will cause it to overheat.)
Do not try to feed a pup. (Incorrect feeding can cause a pup to die.)
Do not try to force a pup into the water.
Leash your dog and keep it off the beach. Off-leash dogs are seals number-one predator.

Call the experts for help! If you see a seal on the beach, call:
For West Seattle seal sightings: Seal Sitters dispatch: 206-905-7325
For all other reports, call the Local NOAA stranding hotline: 206-526-6733
In an emergency — if a seal pup is being attacked by people, dogs or is in other grave danger — call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 800-853-1964, or local law enforcement at 911. Harming a marine mammal is a criminal offense.