Dead seals keep washing up on New England's coast

Seals are dying by the hundreds off the coast of New England, The New York Times reports.

At least 600 harbor and gray seals have been reported dead or dying on the coast from southern Maine to northern Massachusetts, but officials say the number could be as high as 1,000, per the Times.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared the seal deaths an "unusual mortality event" last month and attributed them to disease. The seals appear to be sick with a combination of a measles-like illness and the flu, the Times says. The sickness has plagued seals of all ages, New England Aquarium biologist Katie Pugliares-Bonner told the Times, which makes it more worrisome.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Most of the outbreak seems to be concentrated on the Isle of Shoals off the coasts of southern Maine and northern New Hampshire. Read more about the seals at The New York Times.