It is for good reason that Seal Beach in California got its name.

But recently the members of the Open Water Swim Club have been seeing more seals than usual up and down the Southern California coast. “I saw this little guy on the peninsula in Long Beach near Seal Beach,” recalled Lexie Kelly. “He looked so scared and a bit sick. I was in the middle of a jog by the water and he looked up at me with the cutest eyes and a little sickly sound like he wanted someone to take care of him.”

There are an estimated quarter of a million pinnipeds along the California coastline with Pacific harbor seals, elephant seals, and fur seals – that often swim alongside the coastline-hugging ocean swimmers.

Copyright © 2013 by Open Water Swimming