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Watch this adorable seal pup nurse near Squamish (VIDEO)

Squamish's John Knicley captured this footage of a mother seal nursing her pup on the rocks near Watts Point on Aug. 19 Mother seals (cows) come ashore to give birth, nurse and protect their young.

Squamish's John Knicley captured this footage of a mother seal nursing her pup on the rocks near Watts Point on Aug. 19.

Mother seals, known as cows, come ashore to give birth, nurse and protect their young. 

The BC SPCA has warned that from June through August, beaches along B.C.'s coast become harbour seal nurseries and folks should keep a safe distance

“Female seals will leave their pups to make short feeding trips, gradually staying away longer and longer as the pup develops,” said Dr. Andrea Wallace, manager, wild animal welfare for the BC SPCA in a news release. “Seal pups grow rapidly during the first month, gaining extra fat to help them survive and developing their hunting skills.”

The pups will start to wean off their mom's milk when they are between four to six weeks old.

(When on land, a group of seals is called a colony; when they are on the water, the group is called a raft.)

The SPCA offers the following tips to help keep seal pups safe: 

If you spot a seal pup:

  • Keep pets away from seals. Dogs – on and off-leash – can frighten and cause them injury;
  • Remember that a seal pup on its own is not necessarily orphaned or abandoned. Like many other wild animals, seal mothers leave their pups alone for several hours at a time while they return to the ocean to feed;
  • Keep your distance. Observing pups too closely can discourage adult seals from returning. They may even abandon their young if frightened away;
  • Do not try to coax or push the seal pup into the water. Although pups are able to follow their mothers into the water shortly after birth, swimming and diving require practice – and rest.
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