While visiting Ocean City, MD recently, I was taking an early morning walk on the beach, enjoying the wind, the sound of the waves and the sand and raindrops on my face as I leaned into that same wind.
I came upon a three sided taped off area that had been staked off which was close to the water, the non taped end along the waveline area. There was a warning sign informing all that to touch, and/or harass a sea animal was illegal, whether it was alive or dead. No sea animal was present at this time. Later that afternoon we took a walk again past the same area and discovered that the tape and the stakes holding it, as well as the sign were gone.
Returning to the inn, and with the sun shining, my wife and I decided to take a bottle of Champagne, Dr. Frank's Chateau Frank Brut NY State Champagne and books to the beach. With a cool wind blowing, we sought shelter behind a dune where we could see the large, pounding waves (5'-7') and hear them and still enjoy the warmth of the sun.
A fellow inn resident also came to the beach and in conversation he told us that he had seen a seal on the beach the previous day in the area where we had been and that it appeared to be in fine shape. He said that as far as he could tell, it appeared to be just "resting" as it was moving normally and it did not appear to have any wounds on it. He just looked at it for awhile and left it alone, reporting it when he returned to the inn.
So, was the seal resting, injured, lost or did it come on the beach to escape a predator? It appears we just will never know.
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