PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Don’t be alarmed if you see seals resting on the beach or on a jetty — but don’t engage with them either, marine experts warn.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine has responded to more than 50 calls about seals this week across the Jersey Shore. The center said it’s common to see more gray seals on shore at this time of year. Most don’t need any help at all; they just want to rest.
Most of them are also just a few months old.
“They just want to lay out on the beach and dry off a little bit and just rest because most of them are not born here,” explained Sheila Dean, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. “They’re born in New England and farther north, so they swam all the way down here. They are tired.”
While they are not in danger, they can be dangerous to humans. Dean said seals can bite, so people should stay away.
“Everybody thinks they’re very cute — they are. [People] want close-up photos or selfies or whatever, and it’s not good for the animals,” she said. “They are very young animals; they are inexperienced. They kind of let people come up close to them, which is not a good thing because it stresses them out and if they get too stressed they are going to bite.”
There are times when a seal is injured or sick, and they are taken to the Brigantine facility for rehabilitation. If beachgoers see a sick or injured seal, Dean said they should call the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
“One had a rope or a line around its neck. I think it might be a fishing line,” said Dean. “We are going to have to get the veterinarian to come in. It will probably need a little surgery.”
The center is nursing approximately 20 seals back to health. Once the animals are strong enough, they will be released back into the ocean.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center has been helping stranded and sick whales, dolphins and seals along the Jersey Shore for more than 45 years.