They will bite – and serious infections can be transmitted to you or your pet. Seals are mammals, as are we. They are susceptible to and can pass on nasty viruses such as herpes. Zoonosis — infectious diseases of animals that can naturally be transmitted to humans — is the biggest threat.
Human or pet interaction causes mothers to abandon pups and, in most cases, the pups to starve to death. Human or pet interaction can also bring risk of zoonotic disease, or infectious diseases which spread from animals to humans.
Always let seals make the first move – let them approach you. Sit back, wait quietly and observe. Aim to stay calm and move slowly to avoid spooking the seals and provoking a startled response. Be confident that seals are usually gentle creatures unless they feel threatened.
While seal attacks on humans are rare, as seals are naturally not aggressive animals, they can still bite in defense when they feel cornered or provoked. Seal bites are mostly non-fatal to humans but can cause serious infections.
Stay at least 150 feet away and speak quietly – many seals on beaches are just resting. Do not touch the animal – it's illegal and can be harmful.
Seals have an appealing, perhaps adorable presence and appearance. Like the Assateague ponies, one can't help but want to get closer and even touch or feed them. But such human contact does more harm than good. Like our cherished Assateague ponies, seals are large wild animals and can be extremely dangerous.
How are seals protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act? It is against the law to touch, feed, or otherwise harass seals.
Seals carry several types of bacteria that can be harmful to humans. If you are ever in doubt by the behaviour of a seal it is always best to get out of the water. Non-threatening, calm, slow but confident body language is the key to a safe seal encounter.
Seals slap their bellies in order to send a message to other seals. It lets them communicate to perceived threats that they are strong and alert. These slaps will emit warning signals via low-frequency sound waves which can be picked up by other seals thanks to their acute hearing.
While they may look friendly and docile, sea lions are wild animals and have been known to bite, snap or chase people if they feel afraid or threatened which can result in serious injury.
Although rare, there are a few records of adult leopard seals attacking humans. There has also been one fatality, when a researcher was snorkelling in Antarctic waters and was killed by a leopard seal.
“No matter how cuddly the seals may look, when they bite it does hurt and there is a big chance of infection. They have microorganisms on their skin that can enter our bodies, too.”
Instead, it's best to sit very still. Even in the rare scenario a seal tries to hop onto your kayak, it's best to paddle away calmly—seals, with their thick pelts and layers of fat, won't be harmed by a fall into the water. (Read about a National Geographic photographer's up-close encounter with a leopard seal.)
“Dogs and seals are not in the same family, however, and are not closely related. The family that compromises seals, Pinnipedia, split from other caniforms around 50 million years ago.” Upon further inspection, there are some pretty obvious phenotypical distinctions between seals and dogs.
Hundreds of thousands of harp seals and their babies are at risk of being bludgeoned with barbed clubs and shot, and may even be skinned alive for their fur.
“Seals can match dogs bite for bite. They can be as powerful as a Rottweiler because they need strong jaws and sharp teeth to catch swimming fish. “It's just best to do everything we can to stop incidents like this. A wild animal will defend itself if it feels frightened.
Are seals friendly to humans in their natural habitats? Probably not, but even if they seem to be – keep your distance. In the wild, human contact with seals does more harm than good. As seals are still considered wild animals, they can be stressed from human attention and feel uncomfortable or threatened.
The orcas will often put on dramatic displays with prey when socializing, learning or playing, she said, and may not even eat the animal. Tossing a seal might be a particular whale's hunting style to disable the animal, but it's not essential to kill a seal, which is easy prey for Bigg's killer whales, Hildering said.
The best thing to do if you stumble upon a sea lion, she said, is to keep quiet and calm. “That's the overarching message, just be boring for them.”
Swim with Sealions Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is famous in Australia for being one of the best places to swim with sealions. These untrained, completely wild sealions are known as the “puppies of the sea” for good reason. Playing with the sealions in the shallow waters of Jones Island is an unforgettable experience.
Gray seals may look friendly, but mounting evidence suggests that they can be vicious predators.
Under the EPBC Act all seals and sea lions occurring within Australian waters are listed as marine species ( EPBC Act 1999; section 248). It is an offence to kill, injure, take, trade, keep, or move any member of a listed marine species on Australian Government land or in Commonwealth waters without a permit.
Seal attacks on humans are rare, but they have happened. Seals, especially in their natural habitat, are often timid and would not initiate an attack out of anywhere. Yet, when they feel threatened or provoked, they can bite as an act of self-defense.
MATING AND BREEDING Most male and female harbor seals become sexually active at ages three to six or seven years. Adult females usually mate and give birth to one pup every year; the size of a pup can be 1/4 to 1/3 that of the mother.