Tag: strandings


Strandings: Harbor Seals vs. Grey Seals

Grey Seal

With Harbor Seal pup season in full swing at the National Marine Life Center, many visitors have been curious about why seals strand. Between the four species of seals that can be found within our harbor, harbor seals and grey seals are the two we primarily rehabilitate. During the different seasons of the year, stranding […]

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Turtles, turtles galore!

Kemp's ridley sea turtle

2014 is a historic year for sea turtle strandings, with unprecedented number coming ashore. To date, nearly 1,200 have stranded. These numbers have put a strain not only on our Massachusetts sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation organizations, but on turtle hospitals all along the east coast who have stepped up to help. The turtles are […]

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How do you help stranded marine animals?

NOAA

It is the mission of the National Marine Life Center to rehabilitate stranded marine mammals and return them to the wild, and we would not be able to that without the help of the public! Stranded seal pups like Belmont and Barclay would not be in our facilities if they had not been reported to […]

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Seal Season

Belmont

The NMLC has just gotten its first seal pup — Belmont. He is every bit as adorable as I imagined, but his arrival makes me wonder about seal births and stranding. Seals give birth on land, and they will leave the pup on shore when they hunt (despite its being able to swim). It is […]

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Meet the Turtles!

Betsy

Eight new Kemp’s ridley sea turtle patients have arrived at the National Marine Life Center, thus marking another milestone as the first sea turtles in our new marine animal hospital. All eight animals stranded on Cape Cod beaches this November suffering from having been cold-stunned. Cold-stunning is a form of severe hypothermia that impacts these […]

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Sea Turtles Fight Fickle New England Weather

cold stunned

It’s early November and we’re already finding ourselves warming the cars, scraping the windshield, and dodging the ice cold rain. As you contemplate your move south for the 30 second journey from your car to the front door, keep in mind those (sea turtles) that contemplated the same move. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, […]

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Background Check: Get to know Townsend and his harbor seal friends!

harbor seal

We’ve all gotten to know Townsend during his visit here at the National Marine Life Center. Let’s get to know a little bit more about him and his harbor seal friends as we await the next update! The harbor seal is relatively small when compared to other species of seals around the world. They can […]

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