By SUSAN LIN
One's exposure to wildlife does not have to be limited to the Nature Channel. If you can get a few miles into the ocean off Island Park, you can see harbor seals, formally known as the Phoca Vitulina seals, as close as 10 feet from you.
"They come here from Maine and Nova Scotia," said Mike Fehling, who with wife Gabrielle owns and runs Empire Kayaks in Island Park. He added that the seals migrate south in the winter to warm up. Apparently, the furry visitors' idea of warm is 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which Fehling estimates as the temperature of the water alongn the South Shore.
As close as the seals are, getting to their environment is "not a stroll," Fehling said. It's more like a 12-mile paddle. For four years, the Fehlings have been leading seal-watching expeditions via kayak from November into March. Their next trip will be in mid-March.
In Fehling's opinion, seal-watching by kayak is gentler on the seals and environment than if done on a noisy and larger motor boat. "You're in the water right at their level, and they're popping up all around you," he said. And kayaks are "less threatening to the seals, and non-polluting."
For those undaunted by being on the water in winter, plan on squeezing yourself into a neoprene body suit, or a dry suit with rubber gaskets on the neck, wrists and ankles. Fehling also recommends fleece or polypro-type underwear for maximum warmth. Just don't wear cotton, he said. "It stays wet like a cold, damp rag." Fehling himself wears a dry suit on the water.
The correct gear alone won't get you on an Empire Kayak seal-watch, though. "We ask about the usual physical activities that you do," said Fehling, who makes sure participants will be able to handle the trip.
"It's not like you have to be an expert paddler, but you have to have some kind of athletic ability," he said. Knowing how to swim is a plus, but not necessary.
One woman from Rockville Centre, Anne Kilarjian, made the cut because she has been kayaking for a couple of years. She also knows how to swim. (Her husband and two children, though also avid outdoors people, decided to pass on this adventure.)
At 8:30 on the morning of on Jan. 27, Kilarjian paddled the five miles from Island Park to Haunts Creek, by Jones Beach. The area turns out to be a popular hangout for the seals, which often "haul out" by the dozens to sun themselves on the marshes. "You're almost guaranteed to see 20 or 30 seals," Fehling said.
Kilarjian, though, said she didn't see any seals on the marshes. Rather, they were all in the water, popping their heads out, and that was enough to make the trip worth it, she said.
"You're really sharing the same environment. It's not like they're behind a fence at the zoo." Kilarjian was taken with the seals' appearance, too. "They look like pussycat heads, not with the pointy ears, but they had whiskers," she said.
Don't let the cute faces fool you, though. If one should accidentally pop up next to your kayak, don't try to pet it. "They bite," Fehling said.
He, too, enjoyed the trip that day, which took three hours. "The cool part is that you're on Long Island, and you're surrounded by all this wildlife," he said.
Or, as Kilarjian, who had never gone seal-watching before, put it: "I didn't even know we had seals here."
Next Seal-Watch: Mid-March
Cost: $45, includes kayak and paddles; $10 for wet-suit rental.
To make a reservation, call Mike Fehling at (516) 889-8300.
Empire Kayaks
4 Empire Boulevard
Island Park
