It was a busy day at the beach for several seals on Saturday. Officials say five of the seafaring mammals washed up along the Jersey Shore.
The first seal was found around 8:20 a.m. near the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The animal was taken to an unpopulated area of the beach and then placed back in the ocean.
Another seal washed up at the beach along Knight Avenue in Margate at 8:45 a.m. Officials say that seal ended up going back into the ocean himself.
Another seal washed up in the Loveladies section of Long Beach Island around 9:45 a.m. The animal went back into the ocean but then came back out on the beach before crews ended up placing him back in the water.
A seal washed up in Ventnor shortly after 2 p.m. The animal was taken back to an unpopulated area on the beach and then placed back in the ocean.
Finally, officials received a report of a seal being found on a beach in Avalon, though that seal was never located.
Officials say none of the seals found were injured. A dead harbour porpoise was also found in Margate around 8:15 a.m.
“This really is not that uncommon,” said Sheila Dean, Director of the Brigantine Marine Mammal Training Center. “But it is late in the season for them to wash up.”
