Ashley Stokes | NH Marine Mammal Rescue Coordinator
This past weekend we responded to a juvenile harp seal (winter visitor to the NH seacoast!) at Pirate’s Cove in Rye. In the morning he was pretty spunky and aggressive on approach, but he was eating sand and had some eye discharge. The plan was to remove him from the beach and take him to a rehabilitation facility, but he declined very rapidly later in the morning, and unfortunately expired on the beach. He was still collected however, to be used for scientific research through a necropsy (animal autopsy) and testing to try and determine what may have led to his demise. Special thanks to everyone that reported him, and to the volunteers that dedicated time monitoring him on the beach and educating the beach goers about him!
