Introducing EYES Hearts Seals — Help Protect La Jolla’s Seal Families
Photo featuring precious harbor seals at Children’s pool, La Jolla, CA May 17, 2025, © Wildlife Jewels / Azi S.
Introducing EYES™ Hearts Seals — Help Us Protect La Jolla’s Seal Families
A Wildlife Jewels® Community-Science Initiative for Harbor Seals
🦭💙 See with care. Learn with purpose. Protect with heart.
Each year from December through May, La Jolla becomes one of California’s most important harbor seal pupping sites. Mothers return to the beaches they’ve used for generations — especially Children’s Pool — to give birth, nurse, and raise their pups through the earliest, most vulnerable weeks of life.
To support and protect these precious seal families, Wildlife Jewels proudly launches EYES Hearts Seals, a specialized community-science and volunteer initiative dedicated to safe observation, public awareness, and protection during pupping season and beyond.
💙 What Is EYES Hearts Seals?
EYES Hearts Seals is an extension of the larger EYES — Engage Your Eyes for Sea Life™ coastal wildlife monitoring program.
Our goal is simple and powerful:
⭐ Help La Jolla’s harbor seal pups stay safe
by empowering trained volunteers and community members to:
Observe seals and pups quietly and respectfully
Spot and report hazards or distressed animals
Support protective measures with accurate information
Educate visitors on seal-safe behavior
Reduce disturbance and prevent harmful interactions
This work is vital: Harbor seal pups can be injured, abandoned, or stressed when humans get too close, make loud noises, or bring dogs onto beaches or bluffs where they’re not allowed.
🦭 Why We Created the Hearts Seals Emblem
Our EYES™Hearts Seals emblem blends three symbols that represent the heart of our mission:
👁 The Eye
Seeing wildlife with care, awareness, and respect — the essence of EYES.
💙 The Heart
Protecting coastal wildlife with compassion and intention.
🦭 The Seal
Representing the vulnerable pups and families we’re here to help during their most critical season.
Together, these symbols reflect our purpose:
See with care. Learn with purpose. Protect with heart.
Why La Jolla’s Seal Pups Need Us
Harbor seals give birth on the shore — not offshore like sea lions. That makes them especially vulnerable to:
Human noise and crowding
Dogs on the beach or bluffs
People trying to touch, approach, or pick up pups
Fishing gear and entanglement
Children running or playing close to resting seals
Visitors unaware they are in a pupping area
Even well-meaning visitors can accidentally cause:
stress-induced separation
failed nursing attempts
mom–pup abandonment
Gentle monitoring and education from trained volunteers can make an enormous difference.
Interested in Taking Action to Protect Seals?
👉 Tap HERE to learn about EYES Hearts Seals and sign up!
👉 Tap HERE to learn about the Sierra Club San Diego Seal Society’s incredible docent and seal protection efforts and how you can get involved!
Sapphirine the harbor Seal May 17, 2025 at La Jolla Cove, CA by captured by Azi Sharif/ © Wildlife Jewels
