PORT ANGELES — Feiro Marine Life Center staff are asking people to stay away from a beached Steller sea lion at the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill near Ediz Hook.
The sea lion has been at the beach since at least Friday, causing concern for Melissa Williams, executive director of the Marine Life Center.
Why the sea lion has been at the beach for so long isn’t yet known, but it doesn’t seem to have any human-caused injuries, Williams said, adding that staff had checked on the sea lion Sunday.
“Any time we have an animal do something you don’t expect it to, that’s concerning,” she said. “There’s no obvious signs of injury, but it’s not behaving normally.”
It’s fairly uncommon for a sea lion to go that far into the harbor, she said. They are most frequently seen by the Coast Guard base at the end of Ediz Hook.
Because of the animal’s size — it’s estimated to weigh about 1,000 pounds — it’s difficult for officials to get up close and see if it’s ill, she said.
That means at this point no one knows what’s wrong, she said.
“If it’s not feeling well, the worst thing you can do is get close to it,” she said.
Photos and videos of the sea lion have been sent to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Williams said the best thing for the sea lion now is to just wait and leave it alone in hopes that it will recover. She’s urging people to stay away from it, especially if they have dogs.
If the sea lion is sick, there is a risk the illness could spread to a dog, she said.
Steller sea lions are protected under federal law and people should stay at least 100 yards away, she said.
One of the first people to report the beached sea lion is Ben Rowland, an intern at the mill. He and his coworkers first noticed the large marine mammal at about 9 a.m. Friday.
Rowland said that while harbor seals are common there, he and his coworkers had never seen a sea lion at the mill.
After the sea lion had been there for a few hours, some at the mill became concerned, he said.
“A couple people here said it kind of looked sick,” he said. “We’ve never dealt with something like that before.”
That’s when he reached out to NOAA and Feiro, he said.
Williams said at this point officials aren’t sure whether the sea lion’s condition is going to improve, but that everyone is being proactive.
“I think we all as a community are pretty concerned,” Williams said. “I think it feels frustrating, but the best thing we can do is keep a good eye on it and wait.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
