Seal pup with plastic line embedded in skin rescued at New Jersey shore, nonprofit says
A seal pup with a plastic line tied around its neck that had become embedded in its skin was rescued at a New Jersey shore, according to a nonprofit.
The entangled seal pup was found March 27 at Sandy Hook Gateway National Park in Highlands “resting very close to the water’s edge with a rope clearly visible around his neck,” the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said in an April 3 Facebook post.
A volunteer waited on the beach while a stranding technician was en route, ensuring others stayed more than 150 feet away so as not to spook the pup back into the water, the nonprofit said.
When the technician arrived, “the seal began dashing towards the surf, sprinting nearly 50 yards,” the nonprofit said.
The seal was captured and rushed to the center, where a veterinarian removed the line and treated the wound to prevent infection, the nonprofit said.
After being treated, the 58-pound seal pup rested in the ICU and was “already eating fish on his own,” according to the nonprofit.
The rope, an 18-inch polypropylene line, was tied around the seal’s neck and had been in place “for quite awhile,” the nonprofit said. So long that it became embedded “into the seal’s blubber and flesh.”
“Unfortunately, this is not the first case of this nature,” according to the nonprofit.
The nonprofit said it “has found numerous seals with polypropylene line knotted around their necks,” adding that it is unsure where the line came from and whether the rope was tied intentionally, “or if the knotted lines are discarded packaging material.”
Highlands is about 40 miles southeast of Newark.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Seal pup with plastic line embedded in skin rescued at New Jersey shore, nonprofit says."
