Marine Mammal Stranding Center Rescued 3 Seals in a Week

I am fascinated by the work at Brigantine's Marine Mammal Stranding Center and I always follow its Facebook posts.

In late January, they posted about a colony of Grey seal pups that had been born recently on Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge in Maine.

The post said MMSC was expecting some of them to be visitors to New Jersey waters.

Many will be making a nearly 500-mile marathon swim south to New Jersey waters. We are bracing for the surge of grey seal pups in our area and are ready to help any that need our assistance.

Well, that's exactly what has happened over the past week or so.

3 Grey Seals Rescued in a Week on Jersey Beaches

Wednesday, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center posted on Facebook that they are now caring for five seal rescues at the facility in Brigantine; four Grey seals and a Harbor seal.

There have been three Grey seal pup rescues on NJ beaches in a week. Here's some background on where they were found and their conditions.

Grey Seal #1

A male Grey seal pup was stranded on the beach in Belmar on February 7th.

A team from the MMSC was dispatched and brought him back to Brigantine where he is in Intensive Care.

His intake weight was 38.8 lbs. The staff is giving supportive care via tube feeding a mixture of formula and electrolytes to rehydrate and give nutritional support. The pup is also being treated for a suspected case of lungworms, which leads to difficulty breathing due to parakites in the seal's lungs. Uggh!

Grey Seal #2

A Grey seal pup was admitted to the MMSC hospital on February 9th after stranding in Atlantic City on the beach in front of Boardwalk Hall.

He was very thin and passing dark-colored stools. He is being given nutrition via tube feeding a mixture of formula and electrolytes.

The pup's intake weight was 31.6 lbs. with a length of only 33 inches, making him the smallest seal pup currently in the hospital.

Grey Seal #3

Monday, Feb 10th, the third new Grey seal in a week was brought to the MMSC after being found badly injured lying on a beach in Longport.

The seal suffered from several lacerations on his abdomen and several small puncture wounds on the left side of his mouth.

The team cleaned up his wounds and gave him a mixture of formula and electrolytes. During his medical examination, MMSC's veterinarian determined the likely cause of the wound was a shark attack.

The seal weighed 37.8 lbs. at intake and is now eating on his own.

All in a week's work at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

See how you can donate to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.