NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — From the streets of New Haven to the animal rescue clinic at Mystic Aquarium, a young gray seal has had quite the journey the last couple of days.
It wasn’t a call New Haven police usually get.
“I’m sure they thought it was a joke, but it was not,” New Haven Police Officer Christian Bruckhart said. “It was a seal in the street.”
The seal, believed to be about 5 or 6 weeks old, was found in the middle of Chapel Street near East Street. Police blocked off the area to keep it safe until the DEEP and Mystic Aquarium arrived.
“It definitely was concerning for us when we saw he was amidst all that hustle and bustle of the city,” said Mystic Aquarium animal rescue technician Francesca Battaglia.
Battaglia said this wasn’t the first time the aquarium’s animal rescue team had seen the seal. He was in Branford last week, and on Saturday, he was spotted – maybe more fitting – next to Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill on South Water Street in New Haven.
“We’re like, he’s still bright and alert and looking good,” she said. “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.”
“We don’t know why it was here,” Bruckhart said. “I assumed it was for the clam pizza.”
The aquarium says the pup, a bit underweight at just 28 pounds, was most likely following its instincts to get away from the water and other seals, which could harm him.
“He’s probably just lost and figured that these are my instincts, but unfortunately, with the area being so developed, it’s not actually a safe place for him,” Battaglia said.
The goal is to return this little guy to the wild, which could take weeks or months until he’s ready. He’ll get a more steady diet now of fish and fluids. But he won’t be hand-fed forever.
“We want him to be able to hunt on his own and catch what he needs to support himself,” Battaglia said.
That will give him the best chance for survival once he’s released.
