Young Grey Seal Rescued Off N. Cape May Beach

NORTH CAPE MAY – A North Cape May woman got involved in the rescue of a juvenile grey seal stuck on a Delaware Bay beach.
Patricia Stevenson contacted the Herald and said her granddaughter helped an individual from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC), in Brigantine, lift and load the seal into a truck to be transported to the MMSC facility.
Stevenson said her granddaughter, Talia Stevenson, 19, was eager to help.
Talia Stevenson had been biking down by the bay April 11 and saw a seal on the beach. A man standing nearby pointed it out to her and she went to look.
She said someone there had drawn a line in the sand, suggesting people not get too close to the seal. Talia Stevenson said one woman attempted to approach the seal, which could be a violation of state and federal law, and she was advised by bystanders not to do so.
Talia Stevenson thought seeing the seal from a safe distance would be the closest she would get to a seal – something neither she nor her grandmother had ever seen despite living near the bay for years.
“When I saw the seal, I said to myself, ‘This is the closest I will get to a wild seal.’ Then, the next day, I helped carry it,” Talia Stevenson said.
Talia Stevenson said she and her grandmother went to the bay April 12, the day after seeing the seal for the first time, and it was still there. By this time, someone had called the MMSC, and they waited for a stranding technician from the MMSC to arrive. When he did arrive, the man, whose name they did not get, looked around and asked if he could get help lifting the seal.
“He looked around and saw just me and old people and asked, ‘Can someone please help me carry this seal,’” Talia Stevenson said.
She was a little nervous, but as she was the most able-bodied, she volunteered. She went down onto the sand. The stranding technician got a sort of net for picking up the seal, and they were able to get it under the animal.
Talia Stevenson said the seal was a lot heavier than she expected. Patricia Stevenson said Talia Stevenson told her the seal must have weighed 300 pounds. Patricia Stevenson laughed and told her granddaughter it probably wasn’t that much.
Grey seals are about 35 pounds at birth and by the time they are weaned, they should be about 80 pounds. Someone told Talia Stevenson the seal was probably a few months old.
They lifted the seal and carried it up the stairs to the street and the waiting MMSC truck. As they were carrying the seal, it occurred to Talia Stevenson just what she was doing.
“I thought this was very crazy, and I was shocked I was doing it at all,” she said.
With the seal in the MMSC vehicle, the stranding technician took it to the MMSC, and Talia Stevenson was told she would be able to track the seal’s care on the center’s website.
After working three jobs – selling her commissioned artwork, babysitting, and running a produce stand – Talia Stevenson has a taste of what it is like to work in animal rescue.
“After the whole experience, it wouldn’t be a bad job, helping animals,” she said.
According to the MMSC website, if someone sees a seal on the beach, they should not approach it. The site says seals are protected by both state and federal law, and it is illegal to approach or touch a seal.
The site says most seals simply come to the beach to rest, but if they are injured and are approached by people, they might return to the water before they can get help. 
According to Michele Pagel, assistant director, MMSC, the grey seal was nicknamed the “Delford Drive” seal by concerned residents of North Cape May.
She said the seal decided to rest at a very popular beach entrance in North Cape May, and when word got out about him on social media, he became a popular attraction.
“Popularity has its price, however, and after almost 24 hours in the limelight, he was exhausted by the ‘paparazzi,'” Pagel said, referring to people visiting the seal and taking pictures.
She said the seal pup was very tired when it was brought to MMSC for a health assessment and observation. She said after a good night’s sleep in their hospital, he was feeling much better by the following morning.
She described the Delford Drive seal as having “no signs of illness and weighing a healthy 53 pounds,” and very eager to return home to the ocean.
“This youngster is a great example of why it is important to let seals rest on the beach undisturbed. The stress of having to be constantly vigilant is very hard on their bodies. Your selfie is not worth their life,” Pagel said.
Pagel said people should remain at least 150 feet away from any seals. She said anyone who spots a seal should call the MMSC at 609-266-0538 and their trained stranding technicians will come out and assess the animal.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.