ONLY IN A SHORE TOWN: Marine Mammal Stranding Center staff and borough police work together to transport the seal pup from the road to a vehicle so she can be driven to MMSC headquarters in Brigantine for medical evaluation. (Supplied Photo)

The morning of Tuesday, Feb. 24, “a seal showed up in Harvey Cedars,” said Mayor John Imperiale. This seal, though, was not on the beach, but in the middle of Long Beach Boulevard. Borough worker Doug Lewinski wrapped her in his jacket to carry her from the Boulevard to Middlesex Avenue, and police officer Daniel Grundtisch called the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, located in Brigantine.

According to the center, Grundtisch and the borough’s department of public works then “closed the road as she napped in the middle of the block. MMSC’s Stranding Team arrived to collect the female grey seal pup and transport her to MMSC’s hospital for a medical evaluation.”

“Fortunately, the pup had no injuries; however, she is in thin overall body condition. She is currently resting comfortably in Pen 2 of the Pool House.”

WHEN YOU’RE TIRED, YOU’RE TIRED: A grey seal pup rests on an icy Harvey Cedars street Tuesday morning. (Courtesy Marine Mammal Stranding Center)

As MMSC pointed out in a social media post, a chance encounter with a seal in the roadway is “another big reason to use caution when driving through a shore town after a snowstorm. … Seals love the snow. Grey seal pups are born on islands so they are used to going in almost any direction to hit water. They are notorious for wandering up beach paths and ending up in yards, driveways and the road. That makes it dangerous when there’s snow; it makes it hard to see the seal in the road.”

The seal pup, the center noted, likely got lost looking for a place to nap.

The MMSC offered gratitude to Grundtisch, Lewinski and others from the police department and public works department “for watching over this little one and keeping her safe until our team arrived on scene.”

Imperiale, who was also on site, praised the borough employees, and commented, “Harvey Cedars is clearly the place to be, even for seals!”

Learn more about the Marine Mammal Stranding Center at mmsc.org.  —J.K.-H.