NEWBURY - In his 26 years on Plum Island, Erich Griebling had never seen a stamp in the basin.
Until this week, that is.
A glimpse out Griebling's waterfront window Wednesday morning revealed a great lump on the ice, in a small inlet alongside his neighbors' boats.
"I dug out my binoculars and, sure enough, it was a seal," Griebling, of Melody Lane, said.
Worried that the stamp was lost or in wretched health, Griebling contacted the faculty at Parker River National Wildlife Sanctuary on Plum Island.
"The surge was out. The stamp was passing to get to look for high tide to get out of there," Griebling said.
Refuge law enforcement officer Christopher Husgen, who also holds a point in biology, responded to the harp seal and checked for telltale external injuries, as good as a visible jaw line, which signifies an underweight seal. He also ensured that the seal's eyes were wet and bright, a mark of health, and its stool had the correct number of oil in it.
He establish the 6-foot-long harp seal - characterized by its dark face, silvery-gray body and wishbone-shaped back markings - to be fit, with sight of angle on him. He estimated the seal weighed about 300 pounds.
"It's normal for seals to follow up on land for a pillow and get a bit of sun," Husgen said. "People often think they're stranded or ill because they can persist for so long, over a day, and don't move all that much, but that's simply not the case. The best thing to do is just watch them from afar and give them alone."
Griebling's newfound neighbor stayed for a little more than 24 hours before moving on his way.
Husgen said that this sentence of year, it's not unusual for seals to go to the region, which represents the southern tip of their migration.
In gain to harp seals, hooded seals, which give a blue tinge with swirly black patterns to their coats, are also most commonly spotted in this area in deep winter. The males are distinguishable by their elastic nasal cavity, or "hood."
Seal pups are natural in February to mid-March, in areas like Greenland and Newfoundland, and pass their first few days gorging on their mothers' milk.
"The pups gain up to 5 pounds a day, but after 12 days, they tell from their mothers, and they're on their own for food. Pups can lose up to half their body fat after that," Husgen said.
The younger seals make their way here as they hear where and how to hunting fish, he said. They will return north in the summer months, he added.
"I've been here for 15 years, and in that time, I've just seen three adults. It's usually the younger ones," Husgen said.
Whether the seals are new or old, Husgen said the most significant matter for masses to bed is to remain top of the visiting creatures. Coming too near to a seal is illegal under federal law; most experts recommend keeping a length of at least 150 feet. Although not generally aggressive animals, seals will guard themselves if they feel frightened, and they do bite, he said.
A big concern this sentence of class is interaction between dogs on the beach and seals, Husgen said. In gain to possible injuries from a fight, dogs and seals each may carry innocuous pathogens that are not a job for the host, but might have dire disease consequences for the other.
Passers-by may likewise be interested by certain seal behaviors, like when the animals gnaw at sand. But Husgen said the gnawing is most probably a habit grown out of the pups' practice of chewing on the ice floes that were their first homes.
In the preceding few weeks, seals have been spotted everywhere on the coast, from Salisbury and Plum Island to Cape Ann and land to the South Shore. Locally, there have been two sightings on Plum Island as easily as a 250- to 300-pound male hoodie on Salisbury Beach on Valentine's Day.
Husgen said the increased sightings could be from a legitimate source, a rise in population, or it could be the same seal making an appearance in different locations.
"I'm just thrilled to recognize they're here," Husgen said. "It's one of the particular things about living where we do."
Look, but don't touch
Here are some tips to see seals safely:
Stay at least 150 feet away. Binoculars are your best bet.
Do not allow dogs to access seals. Dogs in the neighbourhood of a seal should be leashed and kept as smooth as possible.
Do not try to run the seal.
Do not try to take the seal.
There's no motivation to visit the government simply because a seal is in the area. If the beast is visibly injured, is being annoyed by anyone or has stayed for more than a few days, then contact the National Marine Fisheries Service of Gloucester at 978-281-9300.
Source: New England Aquarium
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