Seal recovers in Brigantine after shark attack

BRIGANTINE, N.J. (WPVI) -- Meet the newest resident at the Marine mammal stranding center in Brigantine. The badly bitten young grey seal is being nursed back to health after being attacked by a shark.

The injured female was found by rangers at Sandy Hook State Park.

Bob Schoelkopf of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said, "They're flesh wounds right now. It went through the skin down to the blubber layer, but luckily didn't hit into the muscle or internal organs.

It's no surprise that there are sharks in the water off New Jersey. Remember Mary Lee? She's the 3400 pound great white who is constantly tracked by an organization called OCEARCH.

"In early spring we had Mary Lee here Brigantine right where the seals are in the winter time. So she knows where the seals are," Schoelkopf said.

A beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts was closed Wednesday when a paddleboarder had a close encounter with a shark. He wasn't injured,but his paddleboard has a line of teeth marks where the shark bit down.

"I always think about sharks when I go in the water because we know they're here. We know they're in the water here," Barbara Omert of Moorestown, NJ said.

Michael LaBella of Skippack Pa. said, "I don't think it would stop me from kayaking or paddle boarding because that's something I'd like to do. But it definitely comes to mind.

Bob Schoelkopf says it was probably a young shark that took the bite out of the seal. She and another injured harbor seal are under constant monitoring at the stranding center.

It'll take a couple months but the hope is that the seal can recover and return to the ocean.

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps