Keith Matassa interviewed for WCSH story on mysterious seal pup deaths

Keith Matassa, coordinator of ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center, was interviewed for an Oct. 14, 2011 WCSH6 and WLBS TV news story on the mysterious deaths of nearly 100 seal pups found on beaches in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts the past three weeks. 

Matassa explained that it was unusual for so many pups to die in such a short time and that the pups seemed to appear healthy in terms of body weight. Matassa said a team of investigators from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the New England Aquarium, MARC and other scientists from around the region and the world were investigating the deaths. They are looking at possibilities such as toxic algal blooms, like red tide, and infections such as distemper.

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The ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.