Info via Hope for Wildlife
This is the time of year where you may start to see more seals spending time on land.
Seals are semi-aquatic creatures, meaning they spend part of their lives on land, and part in the water. They can spend multiple days at a time on land. Seals “haul out” on land to rest, thermoregulate, molt (annual shedding of fur), and to give birth.
Every year around the beginning of April, Harp and Grey seals will begin to undergo their molting period and you may see them starting to look a little thin and they may look as though they are balding. This is a natural occurrence and is very important for them to be able to shed their old coat and grow a new one.
The molting process requires an increased amount of blood flow to the skin, but molting causes them to lose body heat quickly – so they will spend a prolonged period of time on land during their molt, especially on the warm and sunny days.
Seals require every ounce of energy that they can get during this molting phase so if you see one on the beach, please keep your distance and keep dogs away from the area.
If you see a seal on the beach that does look injured or shows one or more of the following signs please call your local wildlife rehabber. In the Canadian maritime provinces you can call the Marine Animal Response Society (1-866-567-6277).
Signs that a seal may need your help:
They have dry, crusted eyes.
There is discharge around eyes and/or nose.
They have obvious wounds, injuries, or active bleeding.
They seem lethargic and don’t respond to closeness or danger.
