Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center was saved a grey seal pup after it was found entangled in polypropylene line off shore in Highlands, New Jersey, last week.
According to officials with the center, the group received a call shortly after noon on Monday, March 27, about a grey pup seal with rope tied around its neck in the water off the shoreline at Sandy Hook Gateway National Park.
Officials said once the seal was located, team members acted quickly to prevent the animal from dashing back into the surf.
A member of the rescue group sprinted "nearly 50 yards" in order to reach the animal in time, officials said.
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The rescue center said, in a statement, that, once the seal was captured, a wound on the animal's neck was "very apparent," as the line had become embedded an inch deep into the seal's blubber and flesh.
Workers were able to cut the line from the next of the nearly 60-lbs seal pup and it is in treatment to prevent infection, as it looked like the line had been on the seal for some time, officials said.
However, officials noted that there was a knot at the end of the 18-inch length of polypropylene rope. It's not the first time the rescue center has found animals tied in such a way, officials said. Over the years, the center said in a release, that it has found numerous seals with polypropylene line knotted around their necks.
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"The origin of the polypropylene lines still remains a mystery, as it has not been confirmed if the ropes are being tied intentionally around the seal pups, or if the knotted lines are discarded packaging material that have become dangerous marine debris," noted the center, in a statement.
Currently, the center is caring for twelve seals at its facility in Brigantine, New Jersey.
