NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, USA (AP) — A malnourished baby seal is receiving all the fish it desires at an aquarium after being saved from the streets of Connecticut near Yale University.
According to the department spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart, a passerby reported seeing a potentially injured seal, which was discovered by the New Haven Police Department on Sunday afternoon. The seal was located over 1,000 feet (300 metres) away from the closest river.
“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 in an email.
Officers stayed with the seal until it could be transported to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, for rehabilitation.
On Tuesday, officers went to the aquarium to check on the seal, where staff members were working to get it up to an ideal weight for its release. Bruckhart mentioned that they intend to release the seal in a safer location, potentially on the eastern coastline, but not too distant from its original discovery site.
According to WTNH-TV, aquarium staff had observed the gray seal, believed to be approximately five to six weeks old, at least two additional times since last week. They relocated the animal to a beach, but it simply returned to the city centre, probably relying on instinct to escape water and potential threats from other seals.
Gray seals inhabit coastal waters throughout the North Atlantic Ocean and generally feed on fish, crustaceans, squid, octopuses, and occasionally seabirds, as stated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At birth, they weigh around 35 pounds (16 kilogrammes) and usually gain approximately 3 pounds (1.4 kilogrammes) each day during the first three weeks.
