Stranded Seal Gets Aid at Inlet Beach

Scientists from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine were on their way to Manasquan late Friday afternoon in hopes of rescuing a beached grey seal.

A local volunteer for the center who was at the scene said the seal had beached itself during the afternoon Friday and attracted a crowd. A police line was staked around the portion of the beach where the seal was lying on its side and occasionally flapping its tail. It was located at Inlet Beach, just next to the jetty rocks of the Manasquan Inlet.

The volunteer said the seal was showing signs of stress and should not have been out of the water so long. The immediate concerns were that the seal could be whisked out to sea with the rising tide or overheat in the warm temperatures.

Reports of seals beaching themselves were coming in from across the state Friday, she said.

The Brigantine center where injured seals are taken for recovery is experiencing one of its busiest seasons ever, said Robert Schoelkopf, director of the organization.

"Part of the theory is that the ice pack they normally stay on is not as extensive as it once was. They are swimming out in the open water, all the way down to North Carolina," Schoelkopf , when asked about another seal rescue in Barnegat Bay last week.