Marine Mammal Stranding Center Staff Grieve Loss of Rescued Seal

One of the ten recovering seals being cared for this week at Brigantine's Marine Mammal Stranding Center died on Thursday, a loss that was hard on staffers at the MMSC.

In a Facebook post, the MMSC gave 'a sad update' on the seal rescued from a beach in Ship Bottom, LBI on Feb 14th.

When he was found, the seal had several injuries and health conditions.

We are sorry to have to share a sad update with you today. Harbor seal #25-006 (Ship Bottom) has passed away. The approximately one year old male Harbor seal stranded on Valentine’s Day suffering from bloody nasal discharge and a large wound on his left hip. He was being treated by MMSC’s veterinarian for a severe respiratory infection.

The seal also had lesions on his nose and rear flippers and was sneezing frequently when he was found stranded in Ship Bottom.

Still, the seal's death was an especially emotional one for doctors and staffers at the Stranding Center because it appeared he was recovering well from his medical issues.

This patient was showing slight improvement with treatment and was eating well on his own. The seal’s behavior was bright, alert and active through yesterday afternoon. However, just before last night’s feeding session, he was suddenly found to be unresponsive. Despite the team’s efforts to resuscitate the seal, he passed away. A full necropsy will be performed to provide insight into what may have caused his acute decline.

 

Seal's Death Felt Deeply By MMRC Staff

In the Facebook post about the seal's death, the Marine Mammal Rescue Center talked about how hard it is on doctors, staffers, interns and volunteers working with these injured seals when one of them dies unexpectedly.

This is the hardest part of the work that we do in animal rescue. While we know that we can’t save them all, every loss is felt deeply by our staff.

 

A Busy Time for MMSC Staff

The seal season is a busy one at the MMSC's Brigantine headquarters. They were tending to ten rehabilitating seals, three of whom arrived this week.

They are encountering a wide variety of seals, from juveniles to adults, Grey, Harbor, Arctic, and Harp seals all traveling along New Jersey's coast this winter.

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