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Mostly Cloudy Seal pup rescued in Atlantic Beach
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A baby gray seal pup with a cut on its side was found by the Sands catering facility in Atlantic Beach on May 2.
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A baby gray seal pup with a cut on its side was found by the Sands catering facility in Atlantic Beach on May 2, officials from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation said.
It was found on the shore at 6:30 a.m. Foundation officials consider the cut minor and the seal appeared healthy.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, a disturbed seal could bite and possibly transmit diseases like distemper virus or rabies to humans and pets. In other instances, a disturbed seal may abandon its pup to flee an approaching human or dog. If this occurs and the pup is nursing, it will not survive.
A female seal is more likely to return to reclaim her pup if the disturbance near the pup disappears. Watching the animal from a distance is recommended to avoid disturbing it or getting hurt.
Under federal law it is illegal and punishable by law to pick up, handle or interact with free-swimming, dead or beached marine protected species. This includes seals, whales, dolphins, porpoise, sea turtles and manatees. Penalties for disturbing these animals can be up to $50,000 and a year in jail.
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