A sign prohibiting pets is visible at North Beach along Point Reyes National Seashore this week. (Point Reyes National Seashore photo)

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, file photo, a Guadalupe fur seal, front, passes by as a SeaWorld animal rescue team member feeds a California sea lion at their rescue facility in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

North Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore. (Scott Henry/Marin Independent Journal/1988)



Visitors walk along North Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore. (Frankie Frost/Mari Independent Journal/2013)

Federal authorities are investigating an incident in which an off-leash dog attacked and killed a threatened Guadalupe seal pup in an area of the Point Reyes National Seashore closed to dogs.

The seal, less than a year old, was attacked last week at a snowy plover nesting site on North Beach closed to dogs through September to help protect the threatened birds, National Park Service officials said.

“There is no area in the park where dogs are allowed off leash,” said Sarah Codde, a marine ecologist at the national park. “There is a lot of sensitive wildlife and this incident shows dogs can do harm to the special wildlife in our parks.”

The incident occurred April 22. A park visitor saw the dog attack and called the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. By the time wildlife crews arrived the seal was dead.

The dog owner and her dog left the scene, officials said.

The dog owner was described as an approximately 50-year-old woman with shoulder-length, graying dark hair who walked with a cane. The dog was a medium-sized dog with long black-and-white hair.

A necropsy confirmed that the death was caused by the dog attack. The seal suffered several bite wounds to the head and body, including a punctured chest and bleeding lungs, said Emily Whitmer, a veterinarian with the Marine Mammal Center.

The seal weighed just over 13 pounds and had no blubber, appearing to be malnourished. It was likely on shore seeking food and rest, Whitmer said.

A healthy seal this age would likely weigh between 25 to 30 pounds, she said.

“As park visitors, we always have to strike that balance between enjoying the natural beauty and wildlife and keeping that wildlife safe from human interaction and dogs,” she said. “If an animal looks like it acknowledges you, chances are you’re too close. The best thing is to stay back.”

Hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, the Guadalupe fur seal population today is estimated at 34,000 to 35,000. The only known breeding colony is on Guadalupe Island off the Mexican coast and the animals rarely come onto the California shore. Sightings in Point Reyes and the San Francisco Bay Area are particularly rare, Whitmer said.

In its first 40 years, the Marine Mammal Center has rescued 60 threatened Guadalupe fur seals, said Giancarlo Ruli, a spokesman for the center.

In 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an “unusual mortality event” for the threatened species. Between 2015 and 2018, 98 of the mammals were admitted to the Sausalito center for care. Seven are in care now.

Dogs must remain on a 6-foot leash at all times in the designated dog areas, Codde said. The rule also is in place to protect pets from contracting diseases from wild animals, she said.

In an email, Codde wrote: “For a dog walker who is walking their dog off leash in a closed area (no dogs) and the dog kills a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, this may result in civil penalties up to $11,000 (plus Class B misdemeanor fines of up to $5,000) or criminal penalties up to $100,000 plus one year imprisonment.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call 415-464-5100. A map of designated on-leash dog areas is available at nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/upload/map_dogareas_beaches.pdf