A multi-agency effort to rescue a stranded newborn seal in Edgartown Great Pond unfortunately did not end well.
Edgartown Animal Control Officer Kimberly Andrade told The Times that the young seal, which still had its umbilical cord, likely got stuck during last week’s storm.
Andrade said while local animal rescuers waited to see if the mother seal would return, they eventually transported the pup to Woods Hole; it arrived at the National Marine Life Center, a marine animal hospital in Bourne, on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
“There had been no activity of the mom coming back,” Andrade said. “It was there for a week.”
While the pup did receive care, it unfortunately died during its first night.
National Marine Life Center president Connie Merigo told The Times the pup was “extremely lethargic and nearly unresponsive” by the time it arrived.
Merigo said once an animal is reported, it will usually be monitored unless there is “obvious reason” to collect it immediately. She said that how long the monitoring phase lasts depends on various factors, such as the animal’s age and condition. “In this particular case, we had that nasty storm,” Merigo said
For this pup, there was evidence it had received food prior to the rescue. It had no broken bones, but a lot of gas was built up in its gastrointestinal tract, which Merigo said was unusual for such a young pup.
“This was a pretty young animal because it still had the lanugo coat,” she said, referring to a white coat on newborn seals that helps retain warmth. Merigo said the pup was likely only a few days old.
When asked if seals from Martha’s Vineyard were frequent at the center, Merigo said they were not very common. She said some areas on the Island have NOAA-permitted teams to handle marine mammal strandings, like the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). But there are also gaps in this effort, especially after New England Aquarium stopped conducting stranding responses on the Island some years ago.
Andrade told The Times that it is currently seal pup season, so many people contact animal control offices about sightings. Usually the pups are fine, but photos of possibly hurt or ill seals are sent to NOAA to determine how to respond.
To people who do see seal pups on a beach, Andrade recommends keeping your distance and keep dogs on leashes. NOAA Fisheries recommends staying 50 yards away from seals.
There is no shortage of seals, and we should let nature take its course and not waste our valuable resources. It would be a different story if this species was on the verge of extinction it is actually going the other way, and something needs to be done with the overpopulation of seals.
Hmmmm– tough call on many levels.
I am of the opinion that humans should
not have intervened on this one.
As unfortunate as it turned out for
this pup and it’s mother, it is what it is.
perhaps, if we really cared about the
natural environment we would quit
polluting it.
There was plenty of evidence to indicate the seal pup was not going to be found. Multiple calls went out the Thursday before the “rescue” only to hear the “comm center” making jokes in the background and no one else returning any phone calls. Sad to see common sense wasn’t used with all the new washout area out there you would think they realize the seal pup isn’t gonna be found from their mother after the storm surge we’ve seen. Sad to see loss of life in a fragile circle of life to begin with for animals that could have been prevented if someone decided to care a little more at administration levels