The Marine Mammal Center is urging people to give seal pups space if they come across them on a beach in Monterey County or Santa Cruz County.

The Marine Mammal Center is urging people to give seal pups space if they come across them on a beach in Monterey County or Santa Cruz County.

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The Marine Mammal Center is urging people to give seal pups space if they come across them on a beach in Monterey County or Santa Cruz County.

The Marine Mammal Center is urging people to give seal pups space if they come across them on a beach in Monterey County or Santa Cruz County.

Beaches are expected to be busy over the next few days as temperatures rise. The pups you encounter could simply be relaxing or sunning themselves but if you think one is sick, call the Marine Mammal Center and then give the pups plenty of space.

About a half dozen elephant seals found malnourished on coastal beaches are being fattened up at the Marine Mammal Center in Moss Landing.

Staff from the center cover 600-mile range of California beaches looking out for the well-being of elephant, sea lion, and harbor seal pups.

"In fact, between 2020-2021, we've seen a doubling of human interaction with the public, a lot of these cases are people trying to help but that really only address stress on the pup and for people's own safety," said Julia O' Hern, Marine Mammal Center Operations Manager. The Marine Mammal Center response hotline is the best call to make if you believe a pup is sick.

The Marine Mammal Center averages about 10,000 calls a year.

They'll send out volunteers like Carol Rowberg to assess the situation. "We're looking to assess that and first, how does it look? Does it look thin emaciated? Is it doing some behaviors that we should be aware of?" They'll contact veterinarians and the hospital before taking action.

The experts suggest if you come across a pup keep your distance about 50 feet or more and have your dog on a leash.

If you suspect something is wrong, contact the Marine Mammal hot-line: 415-289-SEAL.

"The public loves to look at these animals. They don't always know how to so we try to educate as much as we can," said Rowberg. It is natural for elephant seal pups to be left alone without their mothers on the beach. "So, with elephant seals, their moms will leave after about a month. The mom feeds the pup and after a month, she just takes off. She's hungry. She has to go back into the ocean and find fish and so, the pups are on their own," said O' Hern.

The elephant seal pups being treated at Moss Landing will eventually be returned to their ocean home.

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