Allied Whale is authorized by NOAA Fisheries to respond to marine mammal emergencies and strandings, covering the area from mid-coast Maine to the Canadian border. NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the management and protection of all marine mammals found along the nation's coasts and delegates these responsibilities, which include responding to marine mammal emergencies and strandings, to a network of marine mammal organizations nationwide. As an active member of the Northeast Regional Stranding Network, Allied Whale is obligated to aid any stranded marine mammal as quickly and efficiently as possible, while protecting the public from any potential dangers.

Harbor seal pup, photo by Allied Whale

Most of the stranding calls Allied Whale receives involve young seals. If the seal has not been moved from where it was originally found or is not in immediate danger of harassment or injury by humans or pets, our policy is to monitor it for 24 to 48 hours. In many cases, the seal is not in trouble and will leave on its own after it has rested. A healthy seal pup's chance of survival is much higher in the wild than in captivity. If it is necessary to retrieve the animal, we will put it on a plane to the Animal Laboratory at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Under no circumstances should an untrained person attempt to pick up a seal, feed it or return it to the water.

Strandings reported to Allied Whale have increased dramatically in the past few years from a handful in 1993 to 46 in 1994 and 67 in 1995. In all years, over 90% of reported strandings involved seals. In 1994 we sent 12 orphaned harbor seal pups to the New England Aquarium (NEA) for further rehabilitation. Twenty five pups (25) were sent to NEA in 1995, and 13 were sent in 1996.

There are two reasons for the high incidence of seal strandings within our response area; an increase in the local seal population and a recent influx of seals from the Gulf of St. Lawrence in eastern Canada. In the past three years, we have begun to have regular sightings of harp and hooded seals, species which are usually found in winter on or near the pack ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Harp and hooded seals are grouped together as "ice seals' because they are rarely seen far from sea ice at any season of the year. They are larger than harbor seals (as you can see from the photo below!) and are more aggressive when approached, posing a danger to the public.

Harp and hooded seals are reported as early as December, so our sranding season has increased from a few weeks during harbor seal pupping in the spring to a full six months beginning in the dead of winter. The high volume of stranding calls received during these months necessitates members of the response team be on-call around the clock. Our response area covers approximately 4,800 miles of coastline, so team members must be ready to travel several hours to respond to a stranded animal. We are fortunate to work with a number of trained volunteers along the coast who are able to assist us in assessing the health of reported animals, and retrieve animals who are ill or in dangerous situations. Even with this help, our team logged approximately 4,000 miles on their own family cars during the 1995 season.

Young harp seal pup in "beater" stage, having lost it's white coat. Photo by Allied Whale

Except for seal pups, live strandings of marine mammals on the coast of Maine are uncommon, although reports of entanglements in the Gulf of Maine are increasing. Almost all reports of stranded cetaceans involve dead animals. In the case of a dead whale or dolphin, Allied Whale travels to the animal, performs a necropsy and collects tissue samples which might determine the cause of death or provide valuable information for a collaborating scientist's research.

Allied Whale may transport the skeleton back to College of the Atlantic (COA) where it will be cleaned and prepared for educational purposes or put on display at COA's Natural History Museum. Several skeletons have been prepared by students as part of their studies including a common dolphin, harbor seal, True's beaked whale, and minke whale.

For Marine Mammal Strandings Call:
Office (207) 288-5644
Cell  (207) 266-1326
Pager 818-3852