HARVEY CEDARS — A young grey seal rescued after wandering onto a busy Long Beach Island roadway following a winter storm has been released back into the wild after recovering from illness and malnutrition, officials said.
The juvenile female seal, identified by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center as patient #26-011, was first spotted around 7 a.m. on Feb. 24 on Long Beach Boulevard in Harvey Cedars. Officials said the animal had apparently made its way from the beach through a public access path before ending up in a travel lane on the four-lane road.
A passerby called police after seeing the seal on the roadway. Officers responded along with the borough’s public works department. Because the animal was sitting in an active lane of traffic, workers carefully moved it to a safer area on Middlesex Avenue while they waited for the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to arrive.
The center later said the seal had been found the morning after a blizzard and was suffering from a respiratory infection and malnutrition when it was admitted for treatment.
After rehabilitation, the seal recovered and reached a healthier weight of 73 pounds before being returned to the ocean from a quiet beach within a wildlife refuge.
The release also carried added significance for researchers. Working with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center fitted the former patient with satellite and acoustic tags to monitor her movements after rehabilitation.
Officials said the satellite tag, attached to the seal’s back, is temporary and is expected to detach when she sheds her coat during her next molt. The acoustic tag attached to her rear flipper is designed to track longer-term movement as she passes underwater receivers positioned throughout the mid- and north Atlantic.
The tags are expected to provide information on the seal’s travel, dives and haul-out behavior, and the organization said it plans to share weekly updates on its website and social media pages.
The center thanked supporters for helping give the seal a second chance and said the animal is now featured in its symbolic seal adoption program, which helps fund food, medicine and veterinary care for future patients.
More information is available at mmsc.org/recently-released-seals
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