Slain baby seal found on beach

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A baby seal found beheaded and skinned near a marine research center in Port Townsend, Wash., appears to have been killed by a human, marine researchers said.

The baby harbor seal was found last week in a beach parking lot at Fort Worden State Park near the Port Townsend Marine Center, the Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, Wash., reported.

Chrissy McLean, principal investigator for East Jefferson County Marine Mammal Stranding Network, said the condition of the animal was shocking. "I had never seen anything like this before," she told the newspaper.

McLean said the male pup was treated in a way that suggested human intervention, she said. The seal's skin, which can be sold on the black market, was removed and its organs were exposed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and state Department of Fish and Wildlife officers are investigating, the report said.

It is illegal to harvest or possess marine mammal parts without a permit.