What to Know
- A seal pup washed up Sunday in Manasquan, New Jersey, with deep cuts on the right side of his chest, abdomen and right front flipper
- The injuries were apparently sustained from a close encounter with a shark
- The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is doing everything it can to speed his recovery up in hopes that he can return to the wild
A male gray seal pup, just a couple months old, has gotten off to a rough start after an apparent close encounter with a shark.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center says he washed up Sunday in Manasquan, New Jersey, with deep cuts on the right side of his chest, abdomen and right front flipper, indicative of bites from a shark.
An employee with the center said it is hard to tell what kind of shark attacked the animal because the bite wounds were not profound enough.
Fortunately for the pup, a good Samaritan saw him and called for help. Now he's getting treatment at the center in Brigantine, where a veterinarian stitched up the wounds on his flipper and chest.
He is expected to survive. However, it is hard to tell when all his wounds will fully heal.
The center is doing everything it can to speed his recovery up in hopes that he'll eventually be able to return to the ocean.
