Federal officials are investigating after a young seal was repeatedly stabbed on an Oregon beach in March.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the juvenile elephant seal survived the attack, which took place in a cove near the coastal town of Neskowin. NOAA’s marine response team later relocated the animal to a quieter beach in Washington, where it has been recovering well. It has since grown to around 300 pounds, and officials say the injuries aren’t expected to cause lasting harm.

NOAA’s law enforcement division is leading the investigation and searching for a “person of interest” who was seen by a witness. They are also trying to identify the owner of a vehicle spotted in a nearby parking lot behind a condo complex around the time of the incident.

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Authorities are urging anyone with information about the individual, the vehicle, or the incident to contact NOAA’s enforcement hotline.

According to Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute, juvenile elephant seals commonly haul out on Oregon beaches in spring and summer to molt. Adults are rarely seen in the area. The injured seal had likely just become independent from its mother and was beginning to learn how to survive on its own, said NOAA spokesperson Michael Milstein. In time, it would have likely traveled back to the Channel Islands off Southern California, a typical breeding ground.

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is illegal to harass, injure, kill, or feed elephant seals and other marine mammals. Violators can face fines up to $100,000 and a year in prison.

In the spring and summer, juvenile elephant seals will often drag themselves onto Oregon's beaches to spend weeks shedding their hair and skin, according to Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute. Adult elephant seals are rarely seen in the state.

The seal that was stabbed likely left its mother very recently and was on its own to learn to hunt, Milstein said. Once it had grown a bit more, it would have likely made its way back to breeding areas around the Channel Islands off Southern California

The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild elephant seals and other marine mammals. Violators can face criminal penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail.