A harp seal was rescued in Rockaway Beach this week

Image source: The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation

Earlier this week a yearling harp seal was rescued from Rockaway Beach, thanks to a group effort by folks from the NYC Parks Department, the New York State DEC, and the Riverhead Foundation. The Foundation posted the above picture on their Facebook page:

[Monday] biologists admitted a yearling harp seal from Rockaway Beach in Queens. The young male weighed in at 20Kg or 44 pounds. He is being treated for dehydration and is currently resting in one of our sixteen seal rehabilitation tanks. We would like to thank the officers from the NYC Parks Dept. and New York State DEC that assisted in rescuing our newest patient.

So cute! Yesterday biologists from the Riverhead Foundation were monitoring a gray seal in the Rockaways. The area has seen a lot of ocean wildlife visit its shores in the past year, including a beached finback whale this past fall, who eventually died. We’re glad this little seal made it out alive.

Grim Prognosis for a 60-Ton Whale Stranded on a Beach in Queens [NYT]
More on that beached finback whale on the shore of Breezy Point [QNYC]
Beached whale in Breezy Point not expected to survive [Newsday]
Rescuers Try to Save Whale Washed Ashore in Queens [WSJ]
Dolphin Dies Hours After Beaching Itself In Far Rockaway [CBS]