[UPDATE BELOW] A reader sent us an email last evening with the subject header: "You won't believe who I saw at Brighton Beach!" Our first wishful thought, Charlie Sheen seeking out Russian goddesses, was quickly dashed when we continued on to read the following tale of a possibly injured (possibly by dynamite!) baby seal:
On Sunday morning, March 20th, around 10 a.m., I got a call from my mother, who was jogging on the beach. She found an unwell baby seal lying on the beach, amongst the rocks at the end of Coney Island Avenue. She was around 4 feet long, sometimes moving about, other times laying limply between the rocks, seeming weak or unwell, with no visible injuries.
Another passerby and I stayed with the seal for the next 4 hours or so. We called everyone we could think of—911 hung up several times, 311 gave us a non-functioning phone number to call, local precinct, NY1, News 12... Two staff from the aquarium, 5 minutes' ride away, showed up after about 4 hours claiming they had no appropriate staff on site [ed. note—who was watching their May-December couple?], and they couldn't do anything as seals were protected to such an extent that one could end up in prison for up to 10 years for touching one. The closest specialists authorized to handle seals were at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation (the far end of Long Island). One of their staff had almost reached us, when the seal headed towards the water and was swept away by a wave. News 12 apparently got it on tape.
The staff from the Riverhead Foundation told us that it is a common occurrence for seals to come out to sun themselves on the rocks.
Hopefully the well-meaning passerby may have been worried for nothing, but it's disconcerting that our tipster added that there were witnesses who saw fishermen collecting dead fish from the waters after throwing dynamite in the night before. It could be possible this, at the very least, disoriented the seal for a bit. (Also, are people really fishing with dynamite out there?)
We've contacted Riverhead for more expert insight into this case, but we've seen our fair share of seals over the years so it doesn't seem to unusual; The New Yorker just published a story on their return to city waters, as well, which is worth a read.
UPDATED:Riverhead tells us, "This is a male, yearling, harp seal which was initially observed at Hither Hills, East Hampton on 2/24/11. The animal was assessed as healthy and determined to be a release candidate. He has been tracked offshore to Hudson canyon over the last three weeks and has moved along the NJ coast. It has recently been observed on the south shore of LI in Jamaica Bay. The Riverhead Foundation received a call about this animal on the beach (Breezy Point) but it returned to the water before our biologist arriving on scene. There were no indications of injury noted in the photographs.
These animals are protected under the marine mammal protection act and the public is required to stay at least 50 yards away from a marine mammal. If you see a seal, whale, dolphin or sea turtle please call our Hotline (631) 369-9829."
