It’s harbour seal pupping season, and Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMRS) employees have their hands full, with a total of 67 pups in their care.When these pups are brought in, they can be as young as just a few days old. At the facility, they start with being hand-fed. Then they are taught how to swim and fish on their own before graduating to the bigger pools, where they interact and compete for food with other pups.It’s harbour seal pupping season, and Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMRS) employees have their hands full. (CityNews Image)“What we see on a lot of our local beaches is some of these pups come in and rest while mom goes out to forage, and maybe there’s some human interaction or interference and mom doesn’t come back,” said VAMMRS senior manager Lindsaye Akhurst.“We also see some big tide changes that happen; so pup goes on the beach, mom goes out, the tide comes out, and they get lost.”While they are not scared of humans, the key is helping them gain independence so they can survive in nature.“Once they’ve been here for a good two to three months, and they’re at a certain weight and health is great, then they’re ready to be released back into the wild,” she said.It’s harbour seal pupping season, and Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMRS) employees have their hands full. (CityNews Image)“In the beginning, they’re quite curious, and they associate us with food. But as time goes on, their time with us decreases, but also their time with other seals increases, so they start picking up bad behaviours. They don’t actually habituate to us, which is really great and makes them great candidates for release.”This year, many of the pups have been given Canadian names like Timbit, Loonie, Toonie, and Canadian Bacon — who was rescued off Bowen Island a few weeks ago.They can’t stay babies forever, and the first two pups rescued this season are set to return home later this week.Akhurst says members of the public can get involved to help the pups.“If you are looking at ways to support our facility and our animals, you can go to our website,” she said.“You can adopt a seal, name a seal. It’s a fun way to get engaged.”