ANIMALS

Uptick in seals on New Jersey beaches

Dan Radel
@DanielRadelAPP

There has been an uptick in the number of seals appearing on New Jersey beaches this spring and marine experts are advising people to give the animals space.

"We like people to phone in a seal sighting but keep their distance. Don't go up and pet them or let their dogs approach them," said Bob Schoelkopf, founder and director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

A juvenile gray seal resting on a New Jersey beach.

He said the center is getting two to three calls a day about seals on beaches, which is quite a bit more than recent years.

He's asking people to stay at least 50 yards from them. Seals are also protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

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Most of the seals are juvenile gray pups that were just birthed in February and March. They're about 35 to 40 pounds in weight and learning to hunt. They're coming up to the beach deliberately to warm up because the water is still cold and they do not have enough body fat, he said.

However, some of them have had a various ailments, such as tapeworms, and have been brought into the center, which is near capacity with 15 seals currently in tanks.

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"We had one gray seal with a shark bite. Its bones were exposed, but we were able to suture it and there's no infection," he said.

A harbor seal is also in the center's care that was hit by a boat propeller and had to have its flipper amputated. Schoelkopf said they're trying to find an aquarium that will take it.

A seal warms up on a New Jersey beach in April 2017.

He credits the amount of seals on New Jersey beaches to an increase in the seal population and expects them to migrate north by early May when water temperatures warm up here.

To report a seal call the Marine Mammal Stranding Center hotline at 609-266-0538.

Dan Radel: 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com