Rescued Seal Begins New Chapter At Norwalk Aquarium

NORWALK, CT — A rescued grey seal has found a new home at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk.

Estimated to be nearly 2 years old, Pearl is the Norwalk aquarium's first female grey seal and can be identified by the dark spots scattered across her bright silver-gray fur.

Following two rescues and months of rehabilitation, Pearl, whose spinal condition prevents her from surviving in the wild, is now settling into her new home at the aquarium's Pinniped Cove exhibit after recently completing her quarantine and acclimation period, according to additional press materials provided by the aquarium.

Assistant Curator of Mammals Dylan Salamone said Pearl had been at the aquarium for a few months prior to appearing in front of guests, and his team has been working with her for even longer than that.

"For us and Pearl it was really important that, because of her past experiences, we start building up a relationship," Salamone said to Patch.

According to the aquarium, Pearl was first rescued as a stranded pup along the Rhode Island coast in January 2025 and rehabilitated by the Mystic Aquarium before being released back into the wild.

She was rescued again several months later in Montauk, N.Y., by the New York Marine Rescue Center after being found malnourished and injured, according to the aquarium.

After her second rehabilitation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined Pearl could not survive in the wild and the Maritime Aquarium was selected as her new home based on the expertise of its animal husbandry staff and its ability to accommodate her unique needs, according to the facility.

"Pearl was a really exciting opportunity for us because she really embodies what our entire mission is about," Salamone said. "Our job is to connect people to Long Island Sound and their natural world and explain to them the different challenges that the wildlife might be facing out there. Pearl faced a lot of different challenges during her time."

Pearl's arrival in Norwalk was the result of months of preparation by the aquarium's animal husbandry team, who traveled regularly to work with her during her rehabilitation and help her build positive associations with caregivers, as well as learn foundational behaviors that would make her transition to a new environment less stressful, according to the aquarium.

"Our job is to build relationships with these animals and build trust and rapport with them," Salamone said, "and so specifically for a case like Pearl where maybe that trust bank with humans is pretty deep into the negative, it's important that we slowly start building up into getting to a neutral point and now hopefully, eventually, into the positive."

According to the aquarium, Pearl's spinal condition has resulted in paralysis of her right hind flipper and she relies primarily on her front flippers for movement, which causes her to swim a bit differently than the aquarium's other seals.

The aquarium also noted Pearl sustained injuries consistent with human interference.

Pearl will likely not grow as large as typical female grey seals, and her spinal condition could also lead to additional health challenges in the future, though it is too early to know what those might be or how they could affect her long-term health, according to the aquarium.

Pearl has been making significant progress since her arrival in Norwalk, including gaining weight, recovering from her wounds and showing encouraging signs of improvement, according to the aquarium.

While the team continues to monitor her closely, adapting her care and training to support her comfort, confidence and quality of life as she settles into her new home, Salamone said they felt comfortable bringing Pearl out into the exhibit after a period of time building trust with her.

"She's done excellent," Salamone said. "Honestly, even the second we opened the crate on the exhibit to let her out she almost wanted to go out right away. Unfortunately Mikey, our other gray seal, was also a little shocked to see her and splashed...but she did excellent."

In addition to Mikey, Salamone said the aquarium's other seals Gracie, Sono and Kaya have been excellent around Pearl.

"She was a little bit nervous at first," Salamone said, "but over time we've seen her just get more and more accustomed, and that's exactly what we wanted to see."

Described by the aquarium as "equal parts smart, sweet and stubborn," Pearl is still learning many of the animal husbandry behaviors the aquarium's other seals have already mastered, and guests may notice her adjusting to her new surroundings and interacting with the other seals at her own pace.

While he acknowledged there are still a lot of question marks surrounding Pearl as she settles into her new home, Salamone said they are prepared for anything and hope to see her live a long life in human care.

"All the signs right now point to the fact that we're gearing up towards that," Salamone said, "that that's where this ship is heading."

Salamone noted there are a number of complications that could come up as Pearl continues to develop due to her condition.

"We know how to take the best care of her possible, we're going to continue to look into those different things," Salamone said, "but as long as she's doing what she's doing right now, she should have a long healthy life here, fingers crossed."

The aquarium noted Pearl's journey also reflects the collaborative effort required to care for marine mammals that cannot return to the wild.

From rescue and rehabilitation teams to veterinarians, wildlife officials and aquarium staff, Pearl's story demonstrates how organizations work together to give animals a second chance and help people connect with and understand the challenges facing marine wildlife, according to the aquarium.

Salamone said the Norwalk facility aims to be an aquarium without walls.

"Though Pearl is in our actual institution, her story penetrates those walls," Salamone said said, "it has a larger scope to it. So when people come to visit her and see her, then they learn about her, that is one of those ways that we can accomplish that."

More information is available at maritimeaquarium.org.