VIDEO: Stranded Harp Seal Makes 100 Yard Trek Back to Ocean

WILDWOOD — A young harp seal that was stranded on Cresse Avenue beach here Feb. 21 was able to make a safe return to the Ocean.
Tony Cavalier, chief of the North Wildwood Beach Patrol, found the seal about 100 yards from surf. He said that it had come in on high tide and when the water receded it been left behind. Spending about an hour in the sun, he said, had gotten the animal lethargic and slightly disoriented.
Cavalier estimated the seal to be about a year old. He said that he did not see any sign of injury.
A volunteer from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine had walked behind the seal waving towel in an effort to get him to return to the ocean. It took about an hour for the young marine mammal to make the trek, but once he got close to the water line he quicken his pace. And in just a few minutes he had jumped into the ocean and dove under the waves, much to the relief to the handful of people that had gathered on the beach.
The stranding center reminds beach goers that may come across a stranded animal, to call the center at 609-266-0538. Although seals appear to be harmless, they have sharp teeth and claws and can inflict a very nasty bite that often carry viruses that can be transmitted to humans, according to the center’s Web site.
Contact Suit at: (609) 886-8600 ext. 25 or lsuit@cmcherald.com