Sight impaired seal finds safe haven on Alki

     
An adult seal hauled out on a cold and drizzly Alki Beach around 3pm today. A woman and her young son were startled when the seal came ashore right next to them. A friend looked up Seal Sitters’ website on her cell phone and they were able to call our dispatch line for a quick response. When our volunteer arrived the seal had briefly returned to the water, but promptly came back onshore. Thankfully, the beach was largely deserted and the seemingly exhausted seal was able to rest for a few hours. The seal, nicknamed “Faith”, appears to be blind in one eye and thin, but was alert. Seals use their whiskers (or “vibrissae”) to find food by detecting vibrations of prey. Thus, they can survive with limited sight, though are likely more vulnerable to predators. In fact, blind seals have even been found in the wild with pups. Faith did find his way home to the waters of Puget Sound about 6pm.




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