Harbor Seal

According to Wikipedia, Harbor Seal nostrils “appear distinctively V-shaped.” I suppose that shape holds true for this seal we photographed in Woodard Bay, just east of Olympia, on 29 November 2019. True seals like this lack ear flaps. The ear canal is visible behind the eye. Harbor Seals are common in Puget Sound. Seal populations were greatly reduced during the early 1900s. Washington put bounties on them until 1960 and both the State and the Federal Government have protected them since 1972. Numbers have recovered since then (Puget Sound Institute), Now that people wonder if control of these fish-eating mammals would result in more gamefish, including salmon, which, in turn, would result in more Orca Whales.