Seal Poop Closes Beach in Cape Cod

Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet could reopen as early as Tuesday.

A Cape Cod beach has been pretty crappy recently.

So says a report this week that shuttered the Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.

The culprits? Seals. The Barnstable County Department of Health determined that there is just way too much seal poop in the water to swim in it safely.

Looks like the friendly prey animals aren’t just spending their time down the Cape getting feasted on by great whites.

Sometimes, all that shark bait has to go number two.

The problem, reports CapeCod.com, is bacteria continues to accumulate in the ocean near the beach—the result of a combination of the marine mammals relieving themselves, runoff from animal poop on land during heavy rain, and the weedy offshore waves.

“We do have seaweed that floats in and out and traps seal feces so it could be a function of seaweed plus seals,” Suzanne Grout Thomas, beach administrator, tells the site.

The decision to close the beach came on Saturday, according to the Cape Cod Times, and new tests today could lead to it being reopened.