PORT ANGELES – An elephant seal from California that continued molting Saturday on the city’s waterfront has no name at this point, only a number.
According to a green tag on its flipper, which was fixed there when the animal was off the coast of northern California, the juvenile northern elephant seal is known as “GT678L.”
It appears to be a female elephant seal tagged as a weaned pup on March 25, 2006 on the mainland of the Año Nuevo State Reserve, 55 miles south of San Francisco, according to researchers in Santa Cruz, Calif.
The animal remains sprawled on a grassy area near the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center where it settled after arriving on Hollywood Beach.
Yellow vinyl tape defining a large perimeter isolating the animal remained in place on Saturday.
Volunteers with the Olympic Coast Discovery Center were acting as sentries and tour guides this weekend.
Increasing numbers of people have been strolling by to see the 300-pound baby.
“The animal hasn’t moved,” said Bob Steelquist, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary researcher, Friday. “but there’s enormous concern, given the weekend, the crowds and the events that might conflict with a seal denying access to the waterfront.”
The volunteers “will monitor the animal and explain things to the public, including the importance of staying away and giving it breathing room.” he said.
“We anticipate a lot of interest over the weekend.”
Steelquist said the monitoring is known as “interpretative enforcement.”
“We have someone there to satisfy people’s curiosity, somebody to keep an eye on things,” he said.
“The animal will do what it wants to do.”
