Gray Seal Pup Killed By Car in N.J.

A gray seal pup that wandered inland looking for food was killed by a car crossing a road on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island.

The seal died Tuesday night on Long Beach Boulevard in the township of Long Beach.

This is the first time in 20 years that I have seen a seal on the road, Scott Doyle of the National Marine Fisheries Service told the Atlantic City Press. They usually stay on the beach. From what we have so far, this appears to be an accident.

Bob Schoelkopf of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said the seal was killed instantly. An autopsy by University of Pennsylvania veterinarians determined that the animal’s skull was crushed and it was not suffering from parasites.

Schoelkopf said that late January is an unusual time to see gray seal pups this far south, that they usually show up in late February. Gray seals, which are federally protected in the United States, give birth in late winter in Canada.