Earlier this month, Connetquot High School student-members of Lori Forgione’s Animal Conservation Club recently worked to solve a mystery involving a female Gray Seal pup which had washed up on an east end beach.   

Members of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society based in Hampton Bays visited the students and supplied a deceased 4-feet-long Gray Seal pup. The purpose of their visit was to explain the mission of Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, and to perform a “necrology” (animal autopsy) on the seal to determine the cause of death along with assistance from the students.

“After a lengthy dissection by the students, it was determined that the seal died of malnutrition and dehydration,” said Mrs. Forgione. “The presentation and necrology were part of a highly educational experience for the students in the Animal Conservation Club.”  

Members of the Connetquot HS Animal Conservation Club will follow up their studies with a weekend visit to the rehabilitation facilities at the Atlantis Aquarium, located in Riverhead.

The mission of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society includes cleaning up marine debris, and trying to positively impact the marine environment. For further information on the subject, please visit https://www.amseas.org/