Dead Seal On The Beach

Observation by Ivy-Jane Jacobsen:

Washed up on the beach Me and Shaelyn went for a walk on the boardwalk and got a very strong smell then found this dead seal on the beach not sure of how it died, I tried to get the best pictures, to me it seems like it got bit a couple times from some animal.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation was share with Melissa Good, SeaGrant Marine Advisory Agent in Unalaska, and with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Observations of sick or stranded marine mammals, and samples from marine mammal carcasses, can give scientists clues to the health of the animal before it died. This information is becoming more important as the marine ecosystem changes due to warming temperatures. For more information on recently observed changes in the marine ecosystem, check out Gay Sheffield's presentation to the LEO Network in the June 2020 Webinar.

Sick or dead sea mammals can be reported immediately to the appropriate regional contact below:

NOAA’s Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network 24-hour Hotline: 877-925-7773

North Slope Borough: North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management: 907-852-0350

Bering Strait Region: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program: 855-443-2397 / 907-434-1149

Bering Strait Region: Kawerak, Inc. Subsistence Program: 907-443-4265

Bering Strait Region: Eskimo Walrus Commission: 877-277-4392

Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program: 855-443-2397 / 907-434-1149