BEVERLY, Mass. — Authorities tried to catch a gray seal that wandered and took shelter in a pond in Massachusetts, turning itself in after hobbling to a local police station on Friday.
The gray seal was first seen in a shoe pool in Beverly, northeast of Boston, earlier this month. The animal is believed to have entered the pond from the ocean via rivers and drains.
The seal soon became a nearby attraction, and was even named “Shoebert” after the pond he chose.
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On Thursday, firefighters and wildlife experts used boats and large nets to try to catch the crafty animal, but were unsuccessful after hours. Still, on Friday morning, Shoebert left the pond, walked across a parking lot, and appeared outside the local police station, “seeking help,” as police say.
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Before long, wildlife experts, firefighters and the police department’s “whole midnight shift” were rounding up the seals, in line with the Beverly Police Department’s Facebook approach.
“Schubert appears to be in good health, just a little cheeky in the early hours,” the department noted.
Sarah Callan, director of the aquarium’s animal rescue program, wrote in an email that the seal was transported to the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, where aquarium staff will conduct a medical examination before releasing it. back into the wild.
“He looked like a typical energetic 4-year-old grey seal,” Callan added. “We plan to launch him to a quiet, secluded location near different seals.”