Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Manchester, MA (April 1, 2011)

We received a call late Friday afternoon from a concerned witness to a stranded 'harbor porpoise.' We immediately made our way to the private beach, as stranded cetaceans are usually in very poor condition. When we arrived, we were surprised to find a shuddering Atlantic white-sided dolphin about 20 meters away from the tide line. The dolphin was lying on his side and struggling to breathe. The dolphin was assessed for injuries and rate of respiration. We rotated the dolphin upright, dug space in the sand for his pectoral flippers and covered him with some blankets to decrease the rate at which he was losing body heat. The dolphin was monitored on the beach until the New England Aquarium staff arrived to complete a further assessment. They quickly determined that euthanasia was the best option. Atlantic-white sided dolphins are social animals and heavily dependent on their pod for communication and survival. Once a dolphin becomes separated from the pod, survival in the wild alone is highly unlikely. This dolphin was then taken to the aquarium for necropsy.

Harp Seal Necropsy, NEAq, Boston, MA (March 23, 2011)

In the middle of March we received a report of a very sick looking seal that was stranded on a rocky beach, in Gloucester near Mill Pond. Our first interaction with this particular seal was like many of our other responses to seal strandings; we took a health assessment and decided to keep the seal under surveillance for 24 hours. While the seal looked a little bit weak, it is not uncommon for seals to beach themselves in order to rest after long journeys. Harp seals in particular, usually dwell in the Arctic, so nearly all harp seals have traveled quite a long distance. In the best case scenarios, the seals return to the water and continue on their journeys. However, this harp seal was not in the best shape, and when we returned to the beach the next morning, we discovered that it had died during the night.

While we were upset to find that our seal hadn’t made it through the night, it was a special case for us as we were instructed to collect the dead seal in order to perform a necropsy the next day. Necropsies must be performed on freshly-dead animals otherwise the samples are corrupted by the natural decomposition process. However, the one problem with this particular dead harp seal was that it had drifted into the middle of a marsh, nearly a half of a mile away from the nearest entry point. We would have to haul this one-hundred-and-eighty pound animal out of a marsh, up a hill, and across a baseball field, to the pick-up truck. It was far and heavy but we did it! Before we could even rejoice over our success, we mentally prepared ourselves for the next step, the necropsy.

While we were upset to find that our seal hadn’t made it through the night, it was a special case for us as we were instructed to collect the dead seal in order to perform a necropsy the next day. Necropsies must be performed on freshly-dead animals otherwise the samples are corrupted by the natural decomposition process. However, the one problem with this particular dead harp seal was that it had drifted into the middle of a marsh, nearly a half of a mile away from the nearest entry point. We would have to haul this one-hundred-and-eighty pound animal out of a marsh, up a hill, and across a baseball field, to the pick-up truck. It was far and heavy but we did it! Before we could even rejoice over our success, we mentally prepared ourselves for the next step, the necropsy.

In conjunction with the New England Aquarium, we performed a necropsy of the harp seal. While a description of the process would be quite grotesque, everything that we did was in order to gather data and information about not only the individual seal, but also the harp seal population on the whole. We first performed an external exam, looking closely at the skin condition, wounds, and scars on the seal. Then we performed an internal exam, looking at the stomach contents and organs of the seal. We extracted tissue samples of most of the major organs for haematologists and other scientists to examine for disease. The entire process was carefully documented by taking notes, samples, and pictures; and while the necropsy was often difficult to stomach, it was an extremely unique and informative experience.

Seals are subject to a wide range of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, all of which can increase the risk of death. Harp seals in particular have experienced an increase in disease due to their expanding populations; living in large groups together makes it easier to pass diseases and parasites from one seal to another. We perform necropsies on the seals that we have the opportunity to collect, hoping that we can learn more about the disease interactions occurring in wild seal populations. However, despite the evidence of the problems that plague the seal populations, we could not find any evidence that it died of anything other than old age.

Harp Seal, Ipswich, MA (March 18, 2011)

Around the time of the vernal equinox we were called about an adult harp seal that was stranded on a marsh in Ipswich close to the road. The unusually high tides had allowed this seal to move far inland, about 1-2 miles from the ocean. We monitored this seal for several days with the idea that we would kennel and relocate him since he was so far from the water. However, the seal was always located in inaccessible areas and we were unable to collect him. After 3 days the seal seemed to have made its way back to the ocean, but on the 22nd we received a call that the seal had been found in another part of the marsh. This time we were able to kennel the seal with help from the New England Aquarium. We used tall “crowder” boards to direct the seal into a large kennel, which we covered with a blanket and carefully loaded into our truck. Since the seal’s condition had deteriorated, instead of relocating him we drove him to the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England. The rehab workers were able to take a blood sample and discovered that the seal was extremely dehydrated, undernourished and suffering from kidney and liver failure. In spite of being administered fluids and medicine, unfortunately the seal died later that night. Although the story of this seal has a tragic ending, stranding response efforts like this one provide valuable information that allows us to better respond to seals in future.