‘New Year’s Seal’ Rescued From Island Beach is Doing Well

A seal rescued from the beach in Mantoloking Dec. 30, 2024. (Photo: Marine Mammal Stranding Center)

It was an adventurous start to the new year for a small harbor seal who was scooped up by rescuers after becoming stranded on an ocean beach in Mantoloking New Year’s Eve. Her rescuers at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said this weekend that the seal is on the mend and getting back to herself as she recovers.

The two-year-old seal was 80 pounds – very much underweight – when she became the 216th (and final) marine mammal rescued by the stranding center in 2024.

“Her left rear flipper was swollen, and she had abrasions on her right rear flipper,” the center said in its update. “Her left eye had what appeared to be an old healed injury.”

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According to the MMSC staff, over the past four weeks the seal has been receiving medical treatment as she recovers in “Pen 1” of the facility’s pool house. She has developed a strong appetite, now consuming 10.5-pounds of fish every day to slowly bring her up to a healthy weight. The swelling in her flipper continues to improve with treatment.

“This little lady is also quite feisty, and has definitely been keeping the technicians on their toes while they are cleaning her enclosure!” the update said. “She is behaving appropriately aggressive, a behavior we like to see in our wild patients.”

Traditionally, the center releases seals back into the wild at a safe location – either directly into the ocean or near an inlet – when veterinarians determine they are healthy enough to be free.