The Sunnyvale Sun

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Stranded fur seal pup finds itself navigating VTA tracks

By Jason Goldman-Hall

Sunnyvale is noted for its high-tech businesses or agricultural history, but few people realize its northern border lies at the marshlands at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay.

But the city got a reminder on the evening of Nov. 29, when a 20-pound, 2-month-old Northern fur seal pup was found on the Valley Transportation Authority tracks on Tasman Drive at Reamwood Avenue.

The dehydrated, malnourished and possibly sick pup was taken to the headquarters of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito to its hospital facilities, where communications manager Jim Oswald said volunteers hope to "fatten it up," rehabilitate it and return it to the wild.

The seal is currently resting at the hospital to reduce the stress of being stranded. Once it is comfortable, blood tests will be run to determine if it is free of illnesses.

Jim Bouziane, from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, said because the pup was so young, it did not appear to have been kept as a pet and abandoned.

"It looked like this was a wild animal that had simply strayed away from the bay," Bouziane said.

The pup joined 27 other seals that have been rescued by the Marine Mammal Center in 2006. Some were Guadalupe fur seals.

Oswald said there is some belief that coming El Niño seasons lead to strandings because animals, including fur seals, come in to shore looking for food, but he did not believe this is the case now.

"The food sources are out there for them, but for some reason these young ones are still stranding."

According to a Marine Mammal Center survey on Nov. 6, half of the Northern fur seals had died from the strain of being stranded. As of Nov. 30, Oswald said, the Sunnyvale pup was in critical condition.

In an ideal situation, Oswald said, the animals are acclimated to the hospital, blood tests are run and any diseases are treated while the animal is nursed back to health and a safe body weight. The pups are then trained to hunt for their own food--fur seals typically feed on small fish and squid--dive in the ocean and socialize with others of their species.

Northern fur seals are commonly found in the Northern Pacific Ocean, from the southern end of California to Alaska and across the ocean to Japan and Russia.

Oswald said strandings are uncommon but not unheard of for all cities around the bay. Anyone with questions or sightings is encouraged to call the 24-hour rescue hotline at 415.289.SEAL.

For more information, visit www.marinemammalcenter.org