PORT ANGELES — A juvenile elephant seal decided Monday the parking lot of the Port Angeles Boat Haven was a good place to begin its annual molting process.
Port of Port Angeles officials have blocked the area the seal is laying in off with cords and placed reflective safety cones in the area to protect the animal.
Port officials also notified the state and federal agencies to report the elephant seals’ behavior.
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary officials went to look at the elephant seal Monday and said despite appearances, the animal seems to be in good health.
“They can look really bad when they molt, and it looks as though this seal has just started the process,” said Mary Sue Brancato, resource protection specialist for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
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The rest of the story appears in Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News.