BOSTON — The first calls came from surfers who were looking for early autumn waves off the New Hampshire coast and found dead harbor seals scattered in the surf and sand.
The report of about half a dozen dead carcasses at Jenness Beach in Rye wasn't unusual on its own for the late September, said Tony LaCasse of the New England Aquarium, which operates a marine animal rescue team.
But the reports kept coming.
Since early September, 94 dead seals have been discovered from Maine to northern Massachusetts. That's almost four times the 24 deaths in the same period last year, considered a typical year.
The seals are generally less than a year old and have a healthy appearance. Researchers have theories about what's causing the spike — perhaps a virus or disease — but they have no real answers, and are awaiting test results from tissue and organ samples.
Read the complete story by Jay Lindsay of The AP at The Republic.