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KINGSTON, Wash. — Peri Anderson didn't expect to have a baby seal climb aboard her paddle board, but she did exactly the right thing when it did.
"I had to climb onto another board," the 10-year-old Anderson told King 5 News as she was being honored by a wildlife group for making the right move this week during her class at Kingston Adventures in Kingston, Washington.
Rehabilitators at the PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood said that because Anderson did not try to pick up the two-week-old seal, it has a good chance of surviving in the wild.
Wildlife groups warn people to stay away from baby seals. Mother seals are usually near their babies and when people pick up or touch the seals, it can be deadly.
West Sound Wildlife Shelter came all the way out to see and honor Anderson, her classmates and instructors because they were so impressed with how they handled the situation.
According to the rehabilitators at PAWS, if the baby seal gains enough weight, it could be released back into the wild by the end of summer.
For more information on what you should do if you come in contact with a baby seal, visit the Northwest Marine Mammal Stranding Network to report a stranded animal.