NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Four grey seals made their way back to the ocean this week thanks to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.
The nonprofit has tended to 65 seals since December.
"That's the ones we relocated, ones that died in the wild that we found. So far, we released 14 seals into the wild. We still have five to go,” said Sheila Dean, the nonprofit's director.
Most seals that are rehabilitated spend on average six weeks at the center, with the last two weeks spent swimming in the saltwater pool.
"We have a curtain up behind the pool so they don't see a person feeding them, so we just let them be wild again,” she said.
Dean said dozens of seals were relocated because humans and their dogs don't always keep their distance and disrupt the resting mammals.
Hundreds of volunteers have been assisting in these efforts. And now, dolphins are starting to show up off the Jersey coast. The team is already seeing them get stranded.
"If we can't get them straight back out into the ocean, we take a look at them, our vet takes a look at them, if he thinks they can go straight back in, then we will take them right back into the ocean. Other than that, sadly, we have to euthanize them, because sadly, once they are stranded, they are not going to make it."
Sea turtles are expected to start gliding around soon as well.
To keep these sea creatures safe, Dean urges boaters to be mindful when they are out on the water.
"Slow down with your boat if you see a whale or a dolphin, a seal or a sea turtle … in your boat, turn off the engine, just kind of glide by it, and observe it that way don't try and get on top of it, just let it swim let it be and observe it that way,” she said.