Two male seal pups were located in the North Beach and Holgate areas of Long Beach Island in the past few days and both - as of this morning - were doing well.
"One is eating on its own already and the other is taking food fairly easily," said Robert Schoelkopf, who is the founding director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, in Brigantine.
Schoelkopf said the end of February and early March are when seals typically deliver their pups, and they are commonly seen along LBI.
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He said seal pups typically nurse for 10 days, and then the mother leaves. Seal pups located on the beach often are either resting, from trying to find their own food in the ocean, or haven't quite figured out how to find their own food.
Officials with the Stranding Center encourage anyone who sees a pup on the beach to contact them immediately, so that a trained person can come out and assess the seal.
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It is important, Shoelkopf said, not to approach the pup, because they are easily startled and will try and go back into the ocean. This can be dangerous if they are tired, he said. Also, seals bite and can spread infection.
"We encourage people to stay about a school bus distance away. If you want to take photos from a distance, that is fine, they actually help if you send them to us, but do not walk right up on it. If I can see your shadow in the photo of the pup, you are too close," he said.
The two pups located on LBI are at the Stranding Center, and can be seen on the center's main television screen for those wishing to visit the Brigantine site. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is located at 3625 Brigantine Blvd., Brigantine.
