Baby seal rescued after wandering into the road at the Jersey Shore
By WABC Staff
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OCEAN COUNTY, New Jersey (WABC) — A baby gray seal’s snow day on the beach turned into a roadway rescue in Ocean County, New Jersey.
Police in Harvey Cedars found the pup lounging right in the middle of Long Beach Boulevard, shutting down traffic before she waddled along.
After a trip to the hospital and some much-needed care, the seal is safe and recovering.
This wasn’t your typical post-blizzard call.
“They had received a call from a motorist going down Long Beach Boulevard and stumbled across, an animal laying in the middle of the road,” Jay Pagel with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.
That animal was a gray seal just taking a nap in the middle of Harvey Cedars on the Jersey Shore.
“For the most part, we estimate her to be about 6 to 8 weeks, roughly. Probably came down here from New England and Canada, which is typically where they’re born,” Pagel said.
Pagel and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center were called in to get the pup to safety.
“With the help of the PD, we were able to kind of get her in our net, transfer her into our crate, and bring her back down here,” Pagel said.
This isn’t the first time a seal has been found wandering around on land.
“These little gray seals tend to get into some, usually a couple of cases a year. We’ll find them wandering either in the street or in somebody’s backyard. They basically come up on the beach, they get up over the dune, and they just can’t figure out how to get back to the water,” Pagel said.
If you ever come across a seal on the shore, experts say to keep your distance.
“Stay back about 150ft. These animals are federally protected. They are wild animals. They do have big teeth, just like a dog, so they can get aggressive,” Pagel said.
Pagel says this baby seal was a little underweight, but despite her ordeal, she is doing well.
“She looks pretty good. She doesn’t have any major injuries that we can find. Our veterinarian will be in tomorrow. We’re going to do a more thorough exam,” Pagel said.
Once she gains some weight and gets the seal of approval, she’ll be heading back to the ocean.
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