They might look a little out of place scooting down the streets of Roddickton-Bide Arm, but a Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist says it’s not unusual to see harp seals come ashore in Newfoundland this time of year.
The mayor of the Northern Peninsula community says 40 or more seals have been spotted all over town, but scientist Garry Stenson is not surprised.
“We get this every year,” he said. “If it’s near a town you hear more about it, but it’s not totally uncommon for us to get this.”
Roddickton-Bide Arm is about 450 kilometres northwest of St. John’s as the crow flies, neat the northern tip of the island.
It actually feels like we’re being inundated with seals.– Sheila Fitzpatrick
Harp seals migrate from south from the Arctic starting in December, Stenson explained. They spend their winters off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador. This early in the season, there’s little sea ice off the island, so seals cling close to the shore, traversing iced-in harbours and bays, which freeze before the open ocean.
“Then if the ice freezes up behind them, they have a harder time getting access to water,” he said.
“They really don’t know which way to go.”
The disoriented seals, Stenson said, keep on keeping on, hoping for the best.
An adventurous seal lounges in the back of an RCMP truck, before being brought to a more remote area of the Burin Peninsula. (Provided by Marystown RCMP)
“It’s almost like they get going in a direction and just keep going, hoping that they’re going to eventually find water that way,” he said.
“Usually they find their way back fine.”
‘Pitiful to look at’
The mayor of Roddickton-Bide Arm fears the seals are too confused to find their way out of town this time.
“They’re pitiful to look at. I mean, they haven’t eaten,” Sheila Fitzgerald said.
“I don’t see that there’s any way that these seals are going to survive unless [DFO officers] pick them up and literally bring them back to the edge of the ice.”
Roddickton resident Brendon FitzPatrick says the seals have likely been at the mouth of the brook for several weeks. He’s worried they’re starving. (Brendon FitzPatrick/Twitter)
The mayor said the seals’ grey coats blend in with the road, and the town has had several calls from drivers who’ve had near misses.
“It actually feels like we’re being inundated with seals, because there’s seals on the road, there’s seals in people’s driveways, the backyards, the parking lots, the doorways, the businesses.”
Stenson is confident the seals will eventually get their bearings, but until they do he said people should keep their distance — don’t go in for any seal selfies.
“Don’t go up to them,” he said.
“Harp seals are not particularly aggressive, but they can be if they’re being approached. So your best bet is to call your local fishery officer.”