A whale's tail viewed with Olympic National Park and the Olympic mountains in the background.
NPS Photo/ W. Baccus
If you are concerned about a dead, injured, or distressed marine animal (mammal, turtles, sharks) let a park ranger know, call the West Coast Marine Stranding Hotline at 1-866-767-6114, (For sea otters: 1-87-SEAOTTER, 1-877-326-8837), or fill out this online report. Do NOT attempt to rescue it yourself.
If you stand on the rugged coast of Olympic National Park and scan the Pacific Ocean, you might spot seals, sea lions, a spouting whale, or sea otters frolicking amid the kelp. The cold northern Pacific Ocean provides a rich feeding ground for marine mammals. These waters are part of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, an area of over 3,310 square miles (about twice the size of the park). The sanctuary has documented 29 species of marine mammals in its waters. The approximately 800 rocks, reefs, and islands off the coast stretching from Cape Flattery in the north to just south of Copalis Head (excepting Destruction Island and those that are part of designated Native American reservations) are part of the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge and as designated Wilderness are closed within 200 yards of surrounding waters to all watercraft and public access. The Refuge makes up important areas for breeding sea birds and as haul outs and protected waters for marine mammals.
On park beaches, sea otters, seals, and sea lions may haul out on shore to rest, to give birth to pups, or to molt. Molting, which occurs in late spring to early summer, is when seals and sea lions perform their annual shed and replacement of fur and spring. This can be messy and animals may look ill or bloody - but this is a normal healthy process that they undergo all at once. Please give any wildlife hauled out on beaches lots of space and do not disturb (if they move in response to you or something you are doing you are disturbing them). Just the presence of humans can deter animals from hauling out that may need to.
Some marine mammal species found here were once in great trouble, but have seen recent successes:
Sea otters were hunted to extinction off the Washington coast by the early 1900s, but a reintroduction in 1969 and 1970 began a recovery that continues today. Over 800 otters are now at home again in the kelp forests and waters off the park and occasionally haul out on land.
Gray whales, also once driven to near extinction, recovered enough to be removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act. From March into May, look for their spouts or barnacled-splotched backs as they migrate north to their summer feeding grounds.
For more about the species that might be seen in the nearshore environment or just off shore, see this list of marine mammals.
All wildlife in national parks are protected by federal law. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR § 2.2, the feeding, touching, teasing, calling, frightening or intentional disturbing of wildlife nesting, breeding or other activities is prohibited. Additionally, the public is prohibited from harassing, harming, pursuing, wounding, killing, capturing, or collecting marine species protected by the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.
