A harp seal that was found in distress on the Tashmoo town beach in Tisbury died last week despite rescue efforts by Island officials.
Tisbury animal control officer Heather Maciel came across the animal in a belly up position on Thursday, and immediately knew something was wrong.
“We try to be really cautious and only go up to [an animal] if we actually have to,” said Ms. Maciel.
After Ms. Maciel observed the seal eating a rock, she made the decision to move the animal and worked alongside Andrew Jacobs, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) tribal laboratory manager, to procure a livestock container to safely transport the distressed seal.
“Usually the seals that we see on the beach, they're actually pups, or young seals that the mother has put up on the beach to be safe while she goes around and fishes,” said Ms. Maciel.
The presence of humans usually triggers a flight response in seals and sends them back into the water. In this case, the seal rolled on its back, exposing its belly.
“We do see this behavior from harp seals on a regular basis in southern New England – usually during less snowy winters, or when animals stay a little later in the spring, like this seal did,” Andrea Gomez, a public affairs officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, said in a statement. “This is a stress response from harp seals, sometimes caused by people being too close to the seal.”
Ms. Maciel coordinated passage on the ferry for the seal so that it could be cared for at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
The juvenile male seal later died at the aquarium. According to Ms. Maciel, examiners conducted a necropsy and discovered the seal had no platelets, was severely dehydrated and its belly was full of rocks. It likely died due to kidney and liver failure, Ms. Maciel said.
“The harp seal is a seal that really likes cold weather,” said Ms. Maciel. “The Latin name for the harp seal kind of means ice. So they really like the icy cold water. This time of year, it's very late for it to be beaching itself.”
Harp seals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. According to data referenced by NOAA fisheries, scientists estimate there are approximately 7 million harp seals in the North Atlantic, making them one of the most abundant marine mammals in the area.
“Seals are common in New England and the stranding network responds year round, though there are some patterns in species by seasonality,” said Ms. Gomez. “On Martha's Vineyard, there are commonly sightings of entangled gray seals, which the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) are trained to respond to, as well as seals with other medical conditions that need veterinary care.”
Ms. Gomez said that between 2020-2025, there were 94 records of stranded seals found on Martha's Vineyard.
Anyone who discovers a seal or marine mammal in duress should call the Northeast Marine Mammal stranding hotline at 866-755-6622. From there, callers will be re-directed to a trained and authorized responder in the area.
This article appears in May 8, 2026.
Not all seals make it.