Elephant seal yearling takes a breather on Carmel Beach

By MARY BROWNFIELD

Published: August 11, 2006

A YOUNG elephant seal decided to rest “on the wrong beach at the wrong time,” Marine Mammal Center rescuer Roger Towson said Tuesday morning after he and two other MMC workers, Amy Dunn and Don Vesey, prodded the pup back into the sea. “There are too many people and dogs.”

For an elephant seal, that is.

The sea mammals are typically blasé when it comes to people and other animals who venture close.

“You can walk right up and pet them — and then they’ll bite you,” Towson warned. “And you don’t want to get bitten by a seal, because their mouths are pretty dirty.”

“Your mouth would be dirty, too, if you ate fish all day and never brushed your teeth,” Vesey commented.

Fortunately, no one was bitten Aug. 8, when beach visitors called police to report a seal pup stranded on the sand. Carmel Police Cpl. Steve Rana found the young elephant seal and posted a sign nearby advising passersby to continue passing by. The species ranges from Mexico to Alaska and has large colonies at Año Nuevo State Reserve and near the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse in San Luis Obispo County but are considered a threatened species. According to federal law, people must remain at least 50 yards away from elephant seals, according to Towson. Few people obey that, however, especially on narrow, populated beaches.

The MMC rescuers determined the juvenile elephant seal was healthy and should return to the water rather than be whisked away to their center in Moss Landing. “He’s well fed and is the right size for his age,” said Towson, and the seal’s eyes were moist.

After Vesey marked the juvenile with a yellow grease pen so they would recognize him should he appear on any other area beaches, they used boards to urge him back toward the waves. Initially a bit cantankerous, the seal eventually shimmied toward the surf slowly, and with breaking waves helping, he soon disappeared under the surface.

Young marine mammals often take short breaks on shore, according to wildlife authorities, but people and dogs could lose the privilege of visiting Carmel Beach if elephant seals decided to take up residence there, as they did at Piedras Blancas, where the colony grew from 19 in 1990 to more than 6,000.

Towson was surprised to discover Tuesday’s pup was an elephant seal, as it’s fairly late in the season. “Normally, we’re into sea lions, now,” he said.

He advised anyone who encounters a marine mammal on the beach to stay away and call the center at (831) 633-6298, regardless of whether the animal seems sick. “We can determine if it’s healthy, and if something’s wrong, we can help it,” Towson said.