BIODIVERSITY
SEAL SITTERS TO THE RESCUE
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
Photo: Brett Danley / Flickr
When you spot a seal or other marine mammal resting onshore, it is likely taking a nap, rather than being injured or sick. If you come across a resting or injured animal during your travels, keep your distance, and if there is one, notify the local organization that protects animals. In Seattle, Washington, Seal Sitters volunteer to help marine mammals and advocate for sharing the shore.
What's
changing
As urban areas expand, encounters between marine wildlife and people are becoming more common. Grassroots organizations worldwide are safeguarding these animals and teaching the public about the importance of respecting local wildlife.
What's already
possible
In Seattle, the grassroots Seal Sitters organization formed in 2007 to protect harbor seals and marine wildlife on the city’s shores. The group started when seal pups unexpectedly appeared on West Seattle’s crowded beaches. Curious onlookers were stressing the newborns and putting them at risk of being abandoned by their mothers.
Seizing
the opportunity
Today, Seal Sitters runs a hotline that the public can call when seals come ashore for a nap. Volunteers arrive to protect the resting seals from disturbances and educate onlookers who can observe the animals from a safe distance. Some Seal Sitters also volunteer for the Marine Mammal Stranding Network and support stranded marine animals. Sitters encounter living and dead animals, so they can give biologists information that contributes to their work monitoring diseases, pollution and population sizes.
Standout
tactic
Seal Sitters aim to instill a passion for stewardship in children through educational material for younger kids that includes book recommendations, coloring pages and information about how to keep trash out of oceans. They encourage children to become Seal Sitter volunteers themselves with their parents supervising from nearby.
How
it helps
Residents alert Seal Sitters more than 200 times per year to help marine mammals, and 90% of those calls are for harbor seal pups looking for a space to nap. More than 1,000 residents have been trained as Seal Sitter volunteers. The organization is helping throughout the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
Diving
deeper
How can grassroots organizations like Seal Sitters address larger environmental issues, such as pollution and habitat destruction, that contribute to the challenges faced by marine wildlife?
Increasing
impact
Organizations like Seal Sitters could increase their impact by adopting technology to provide real-time data to scientists and researchers, improving monitoring and enabling more collaborative conservation efforts.
Traveling
better
Travel is inherently carbon intensive. Whether you are taking a mini-break or an annual vacation, consider ways to minimize your impact by staying longer in one place, reconsidering how you travel to the destination, and supporting businesses that are working to make their community and the world a better place.
