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'Extremely Rare': Harbor Seal Spotted on Sandbar of a Florida Beach
Harbor seals rarely travel south of North Carolina; only two strandings have occurred in Florida in 20 years, Hubbs-SeaWorld said.
- On Monday, the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute reported a harbor seal found on a sandbar in Mosquito Lagoon about five miles south of Ponce Inlet, describing it as extremely rare and only the second stranding in Florida in 20 years.
- Harbor seals are generally non-migratory, and HSWRI noted they rarely travel south of North Carolina, making the Florida sighting unusual.
- The team photographed and assessed the seal before it re-entered the water, and the Marine Discovery Center also confirmed the sighting.
- Officials urged the public to follow safety rules, report strandings via Florida's hotline 1-888-404-3922, and stay at least 100 yards away, according to HSWRI.
- Regional monitoring experts point out that Brevard County, Florida has been a 'hot spot' with more than twice the strandings than other Florida counties from 1977 to 2020, while NOAA cataloged 18 harbor seal stocks along U.S. coasts.
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