Baby seal found far from the beach in Connecticut city: 'Lucky' to be rescued
A lost baby seal that was found wandering the streets of a Connecticut city over the weekend is safe and recovering, police said Tuesday.
The baby male gray seal was discovered Sunday near the downtown of New Haven, Connecticut, Officer Christian Bruckhart told Paste BN in an email. Although the seal was far from its natural habitat, he was only several blocks away from some of the most famous pizza spots in the city.
"We assumed he was here to try the clam pizza but I can't confirm that, we're just happy he's safe," Bruckhart said.
Police officers had received a call at around 2:20 p.m. about a possibly injured seal pup, according to Bruckhart. Officers stayed with the seal until he was transferred to the Mystic Aquarium, a marine aquarium about 55 miles east of downtown New Haven, for rehabilitation.
Animal Rescue Program professionals took the seal to the aquarium with support from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the New Haven Police Department.
After checking in with the aquarium on Monday, Bruckhart reported that the seal was "recuperating." Officers also visited him Tuesday at the aquarium, Bruckhart said.
"Mystic Aquarium is pleased to have rescued this misdirected young seal in need of help, and looks forward to hopefully returning the seal back to the ocean in the months ahead," Dr. Allison Tuttle, Mystic Aquarium's Chief Zoological Officer, said in a news release. "We are proud to provide marine mammal response, rescue, and rehabilitation for the state of Connecticut, and help marine animals in need."
Baby seal was 'lucky' to have been rescued, Mystic Aquarium says
The male seal, estimated to be only a few weeks old, is believed to have wandered a nearby beach to a “potentially dangerous situation” on the streets of New Haven, according to the Mystic Aquarium. But it wasn't the first time the seal had been spotted in the city, WTNH reported.
Mystic Aquarium animal rescue technician Francesca Battaglia told the television station that the seal was seen in Branford, a shoreline town just southeast of New Haven, last week. And on Saturday, he was discovered next to Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill on the waterfront in New Haven, according to WTNH.
"We’re like, he’s still bright and alert and looking good," Battaglia told WTNH. "Maybe we can just relocate him to a safe beach, and so our team did do that. But then, unfortunately, the next day, he showed back up in the middle of the city there."
Battaglia said it's likely the seal was initially following his "natural instincts" before he became lost, according to WTNH and NBC Connecticut. Battaglia told NBC Connecticut that while seals move up the beach, they typically don't venture far into the city.
The veterinary team at the aquarium’s clinic found that the seal was lethargic and dehydrated when he was admitted, according to the aquarium. He weighed just 28 pounds, less than the 35 pounds newborn gray seals typically weigh.
The seal was “lucky” to have been rescued, the aquarium said.
Newborn seals will usually nurse on high fat milk for three weeks. The clinic has started him on fluid therapy and an individualized treatment plan. They will feed him a dilute fish formula that will provide him with the nutrition he needs to “heal and grow.”
“The goal for this seal, along with every other rescued marine mammal and sea turtle patient, is to release the seal back to its ocean home once he is healthy and strong,” the aquarium said.
What are gray seals?
Gray seals are “true seals” with short flippers and no external ear flaps, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As adults, they can weigh up to 880 pounds and be up to 10 feet long.
The species are found in coastal waters throughout the North Atlantic Ocean and are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the NOAA said. They can be found on rocky coasts, islands, sandbars, ice shelves and icebergs.
The NOAA estimates that there are about 450,000 gray seals in Canada and U.S. waters.
"Gray seals gather in large groups during the mating/pupping and molting seasons," according to the NOAA. "Outside of this, they often share their habitat with harbor seals ... During the rest of the year, they can be found alone, in small groups or at large aggregations either on land or at sea."
'Not uncommon' for marine mammals to be rescued in urban areas
Thousands of stranded marine animals are reported to stranding networks each year, according to the NOAA. The National Marine Mammal Stranding Network consists of 100 organizations that work with NOAA Fisheries to respond to marine mammal strandings, such as seals and sea lions.
The NOAA said "sporadic strandings of individual animals" are common in many areas while stranding events involving a larger number of animals are less frequent.
"It's not uncommon for trained marine mammal response organizations in NOAA's West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network (Washington, Oregon and California) to rescue seals, sea lions, sea otters in more urban environments like coastal roadways, ports and harbor areas, state parks, etc. that border waterways," Giancarlo Rulli, associate public relations director for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, told Paste BN in an email.
Rulli noted that the majority of marine mammals rescued are on publicly accessed beaches and are reported by the public. If a stranded marine animal is spotted, the NOAA advises the public to not approach it and try to keep other people and pets from disturbing it.
People should then call their local stranding network and wait for an authorized responder to arrive, according to the NOAA.
"The public is critical in reporting marine mammals in distress and providing them a safe space on the beach (a minimum of 50 yards for seals, sea lions and otters)," Rulli added.