Marine Mammal Stranding Center

02/28/2025

MMSC Live Patient Update 🦭 Join us in hospital rounds to hear updates on our nine patients.

02/28/2025

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” – Rumi

Stranding Volunteer Michael McKenna captured this beautiful scene while checking up on a seal resting on a dock. This healthy Harp seal was enjoying a quiet sunset and his dinner (what looked to be an American eel). 🧡

02/27/2025

Tomorrow (February 28th) is the last day to secure your invitation to MMSC's 2025 Pod Member Open House! Don't miss your chance to tour New Jersey's only marine mammal rehabilitation hospital and chat one on one with our staff! Invitations to the event will be emailed to members later this spring/early summer at the conclusion of seal season. This exclusive behind the scenes experience is only available for memberships renewed or purchased through tomorrow. For more information please visit our website- https://mmsc.org/online-store/ols/categories/memberships

02/27/2025

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. 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.
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. Thank you to our dedicated staff, volunteers, interns and MMSC veterinarian Dr. Hubert Paluch for caring for this patient and doing everything possible to try to give him a second chance. We also want to thank our followers and supporters. We know how invested you have become in following along with each seal’s rehabilitation journey, and appreciate how you rally around each patient. We know that you are feeling the pain of this loss right along side of us.

02/26/2025

🚨New Patient(s) Alert & MMSC Rehabilitation Hospital Update:
Seal season continues to ramp up with many seals utilizing New Jersey’s beaches as a rest stop while they travel up and down the East Coast this winter. We are seeing both juvenile and adult Grey and Harbor seals throughout the state, and over the past two weeks sightings of our annual visitors from the Arctic, the Harp seals, have increased as well. Our Stranding Staff and certified MMSC Stranding Volunteers continue to be hard at work monitoring resting seals. Fortunately, many of the seals we have assessed have been healthy animals just taking a break from the rigors of hunting.
As of this morning there are currently ten seals receiving rehabilitative care at our facility. Between Sunday and Monday of this week, three more seals have been admitted into the hospital for medical treatment:
🦭MMSC 25-009- On Sunday (2/23) we received a report of a seal hauled out on the beach in Beach Haven. The female Grey seal was underweight and had lacerations on the right side of her face and neck. The seal was admitted into the hospital for treatment for a suspected respiratory infection. Her intake weight was 33.4 lbs. The patient is currently being assist-fed by the Stranding Technicians, and is resting comfortably in Pen 4 of the Pool House.
🦭MMSC 25-010- On Monday morning (2/24) a male Harp seal was reported in Stone Harbor. The seal was observed eating sand, an usual behavior Harp seals display when dehydrated, suffering from an illness, or very stressed. Once admitted into the hospital, staff began supportive care via tube feeding to rehydrate the seal, and started treatment to flush the sand out of his system with fluids and mineral oil. His intake weight was 54.2 lbs. We are happy to report that this patient is eating on his own, and is resting comfortably in Tub 8 of the Quonset Hut.
🦭MMSC 25-011- On Monday afternoon we received a call for a Grey seal resting on the beach in Leonardo. The male pup was very underweight and still had 10% of his white birthing coat (lanugo). Once he was admitted to the hospital the staff began supportive care and nutritional support via tube feeding formula and electrolytes. His intake weight was 33.4 lbs. The patient is currently being assist-fed by the Stranding Technicians, and is in guarded condition. He is resting comfortably in Pen 3 of the Pool House.
Additionally, last Thursday (2/20) a Harp seal that stranded in Longport suffering from dehydration and eating sand was also admitted for rehabilitation. Sadly, this seal passed away 48 hours later from a suspected gastric impaction. The animal was submitted to NJAHDL for a full necropsy.
With the uptick of seals in our area, we would like to remind beachgoers to please keep MMSC’s 24-hour hotline on your phone (609) 266-0538 and call us with your sightings so that MMSC staff and certified Stranding Volunteers can assess the health and safety of the seals. Seals are Federally protected, so please keep you and your dog at least 150 feet away, more if the seal is alert to your presence. Please DO NOT post the locations of seals on social media, as it just drives more people to the scene, increasing the amount of harassment of these tired animals who are just trying to sleep. We are anticipating the busy days to continue, so please share this post to help increase awareness. Thank you for helping us keep these beautiful visitors to our area safe!
Finally, please consider making a donation to MMSC this seal season to help support our rescue and rehabilitation efforts. Donations help provide critical veterinary care such as diagnostic testing to guide treatment plans, medication, nutritional supplements, and food. Thank you so much for your support!🦭

02/26/2025

Our friend Kinsley a sign at Graveling Point Beach in Little Egg Harbor Township! Kinsley made sure to review the guidelines with her humans to help keep seals safe:
✅Remaining on a leash because seals bite and can transmit many serious diseases to dogs (and humans, too!).
✅Keeping herself and her humans at least 150 feet away from any seals they encounter on the beach.
✅Calling MMSC's hotline (609) 266-0538 to report any seal sightings (her humans may have to help her dial the phone).

Kinsley Gives Seals Space. Kinsley is a Very Good Dog. Be like Kinsley.

02/25/2025

Thank you KYW Newsradio for helping to increase awareness for the seals on our beaches! 🦭

It’s seal season, and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, New Jersey is urging the public to stay away from resting and injured seals you may come across on the beach — for their safety and yours.

02/25/2025

🛑Breaking News 🛑
On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. the House Committee on Natural Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled "Evaluating the Implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act." These Acts are integral for the protection of wildlife and the ecosystems they call home. You can take action today to voice your opinion on this issue by following the link below, courtesy of our friends at Whale and Dolphin Conservation Thank you!

https://us.whales.org/policy/save-the-marine-mammal-protection-act

02/25/2025

🚨New Patient Alert🚨
On February 19th we received a call for a Harp seal hauled out on the beach in Middletown, Monmouth County. The caller indicated that the seal had been on the beach in the same location for over 24 hours. A certified Stranding Volunteer local to the area was immediately dispatched to observe the seal while MMSC’s Stranding Coordinator responded from Brigantine.
Harp seals are one of the Arctic's most iconic species, and New Jersey sees its fair share of these Canadian visitors every winter. An unusual trait of this species is their tendency to strand due to eating rocks and sand. As an animal that is found on the ice packs for most of their lives, Harp seals often consume snow and ice for fresh water. When they haul out on our beaches, sick and dehydrated Harp seals may start eating sand, confusing it for snow, putting them in danger of gastric impaction. This Harp seal had sand inside of its mouth, a tell-tale sign of consuming the substrate.
The Harp seal was immediately transported to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center for treatment. Once admitted into the hospital, staff began supportive care via tube feeding to rehydrate the seal, and started treatment to flush the sand out of his system with fluids and mineral oil. The seal's intake weight was 59.6 lbs. He is currently resting comfortably in Tub 7 of the Hut and has already started to eat fish on his own. We are also supplying our new patient with piles of ice for supplemental hydration and comfort.
We would like to remind the public to please call MMSC’s 24-Hour Stranding Hotline (609) 266-0538 with any seal sightings so that our Stranding Technicians and certified Stranding Volunteers can make an assessment of the animal’s health and safety. They are trained to evaluate the subtle (and not so subtle) physical and behavioral cues that may indicate if a seal is in need of help. Thank you!
We are currently caring for ten seals in our hospital. Won't you please consider making a donation to MMSC this seal season to help support our efforts with sick and injured marine mammals? Thank you so much for your support!
photo 📸 Michael McKenna

02/24/2025

Good morning from the Pool House! 🌞 Our smallest patient in the hospital Grey seal #25-004 (Atlantic City) is just stopping by to wish you a great week, and to remind you that whatever it is, you got this! ❤

02/21/2025

Thank you Ted Greenberg from NBC10 Philadelphia for visiting MMSC today. As the humans are busy preparing for this weekend's Polar Bear Plunge, the seals have been enjoying our colder temperatures for months! Watch for behind the scenes footage of our hospital starting at 0:48 and hear updates on our patients from our Stranding Coordinator. 🦭

Despite the recent bitter cold temperatures, thousands are expected to dash into the ocean for the Polar Bear Plunge Saturday in Seaside Heights. And many more will also be watching, but a recent act of terror has authorities stepping up security. NBC10’s Ted Greenberg explains.

02/21/2025

THANK YOU to Michael, Erica and fellow anonymous supporters for donating items from our Amazon Wish List this week! We appreciate your amazing support! ❤

02/21/2025

Grey seal #25-002 (Strathmere) is having such an epic post-breakfast nap, we're all kind of jealous. 💤

02/20/2025

Have you ever wondered what the inside of New Jersey's only marine mammal hospital looks like? Now is your chance to visit our rehabilitation facilities, talk one-on-one with our staff, and learn exactly how your donations help the animals! All memberships purchased or renewed from now through February 28th will include an exclusive invitation to MMSC's 2025 Pod Member Open House Event. Time is running out, don't miss this opportunity! For more information on our five different membership levels and benefits included with each, please visit our website-

Join our pod and become a partner in our mission to RESCUE, REHABILITATE and RELEASE!

02/19/2025

MMSC Live Patient Update 🦭Join us on hospital rounds to hear updates on all six patients currently recovering at our facility!

02/19/2025

Good morning! We are so excited that over 3,000 new followers have joined our Facebook and Instagram pages over the past month! Thank you to everyone for following along with us as we try our best to share with you the day to day work of marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation. More than 54,890 strong, all of our social media followers truly feel like extended family to our small but mighty staff here at MMSC. You are always right there with us celebrating the good days and the wins for the animals! And on the tough days, you are always so caring and supportive. All of your comments, likes and shares do so much to help the animals by spreading the word about our work and our mission. We are so grateful for your support, and thank you for being a part of our pod! Snowy photo of Grey seal #25-002 (Strathmere) included in appreciation of your support! ❤❄🦭

02/18/2025

🚨NEW PATIENT ALERT🚨
On Valentine’s Day (February 14th) this male Harbor seal was spotted on the beach in Ship Bottom with a large wound on his left hip, and lesions on his nose and rear flippers. The injured seal also had bloody discharge from his nose. The Stranding Team immediately transported him to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center where he was admitted into the hospital for supportive care. Our veterinarian evaluated his injury, and determined the large, shallow wound was an older injury that was in the process of healing. In addition to the nasal discharge, the seal was also sneezing. Cultures were taken and a treatment plan for a suspected respiratory infection was started. Despite his wound and respiratory infection, the approximately 1 year old seal is in good body condition, weighing in at 47lbs. We are happy to report that he is eating well on his own.
This injured seal will stay in our hospital until his infection has cleared and his wounds have healed. Seals may recover in our hospital for 6 weeks or more before they are ready to return to the wild, averaging upwards of $3,000 in expenses for each seal during their stay. THANK YOU to our amazing supporters who help make a difference in the lives of injured and sick seals!

02/17/2025

"Why does that seal have a orange number drawn on his head?!?!"
It's a call we get a few times every seal season. Ever wonder about the seals with the pink or orange markings? Today we are unraveling that mystery!
When our Stranding Team needs to relocate a seal to a new location due to disturbance, or to examine a seal to determine if they need medical care, we mark them so we know they have been assessed by our staff to be healthy enough to return to sea. Each seal will have a specific number written on their head or back with a non-toxic livestock marker in a bright pigment that fades in a few weeks. If the same seal shows up on another beach, the number lets us know that we have already checked on that animal.
People often ask if the marking makes the seals more vulnerable to predation by sharks. Sharks are believed to have only one type of cone (green-sensitive) whereas humans have three (red, green and blue sensitive), enabling us to tell the subtle differences between a wider range of colors. Since sharks are lacking in the ability to detect red, the pink or orange pigments likely have little contrast against a seal's grey or brown coat. Sharks also typically make their approach on seals from below in a sudden vertical rush, rather than from above.
Here is a photo of a healthy Harp seal right after being assessed and marked, showing an orange #4 on top of his head, before being released.