Elephant Seal Resting on N. Oregon Coast Beach While Molting: Stay Away - Video

Published 04/01/25 at 6:35 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – A young elephant seal was found on Seaside's beach early Tuesday morning, and while it is cute and even sometimes visibly in pain, humans need to stay far away from the little one. (Photos and video Seaside Aquarium)

It's a fairly common occurrence on Oregon coast beaches this time of year, said Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium.

“This elephant seal is going through its annual molt, which is a normal process and it is resting,” Boothe said. “Stay at least 100 yards away and keep dogs on a leash. It does not need to be fed and do not pour water on this animal; it can get to the water on its own.”

Boothe said it is being monitored by volunteers with the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Indeed, any disturbance of the creature violates federal law.

Seaside Aquarium deals with these kinds of strandings a lot, as well as other seals, sea lions, whales and sharks.

In such past incidents, Boothe told Oregon Coast Beach Connection that coming up onto to beach raises the body temperature of the molting seal, helping the molting process go by more quickly. The ordeal takes weeks.

“Young elephant seals use the beach while they molt, a process where the seal loses all of its fur and re-grows a new coat,” Boothe said. “Salt water would irritate the sores that they get during their molt, so they choose to haul out of the water.”

The only thing they need in these cases is peace and quiet – and time.

In other past incidents, Seaside Aquarium manager Kieth Chandler told Oregon Coast Beach Connection he urges everyone to keep away from any of these creatures, and said there are various reasons for concern in a situation involving people and animals washing up.

“We’re always concerned for their safety,” Chandler said. “They may be slow, not feeling well and lethargic, but they can still deliver a powerful bite and injure a person. There’s also the worry about dogs. They can get sick from coming into contact with an elephant seal.”

Well-meaning people try to help, but the aquarium has said that if you don't know what you're doing, you can cause more harm than ever.

Chandler said people often make things worse when doing anything at all.

“They tend to bring buckets of water and pour it on the seal, thinking that will help,” Chandler said. “But that’s exactly the opposite of what you’re supposed to do. They come to the beach to get away from the saltwater, as that hurts them while they’re molting.”

The northern elephant seal is the largest of the “true” seals in the Northern Hemisphere, Boothe said. “

“Adult males use their large, inflatable noses during the winter breeding season to resonate sound when vocally threatening each other,” she said. “The largest colonies of northern elephant seals are found off southern California in the Channel Islands. They have one of the longest migrations of any mammal; some have been recorded traveling over 13,000 miles roundtrip.”

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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