Lily the Seal Leaves Fans in Her Wake

Dozens of fans lined the beach, cameras in hand, as Lily the gray seal made her way into the water from the shores of Assateague State Park.

Lily was the 150th animal returned to the wild from the National Aquarium Animal Rescue, which treats and releases injured animals from the Delmarva peninsula.

The seal pup was suffering from a broken jaw when admitted to the Baltimore facility on Easter, according to a statement from the National Aquarium. At the time, she was unable to eat on her own.

Lily had been weaned from her mother but did not yet know how to hunt for herself, and the manager of the rescue program told The Daily Times it was undetermined how she became injured.

The team in Baltimore created activities to help the pup learn how to hunt, and she began eating herring and capelin daily, according to a statement from the aquarium.

Despite an early prognosis that she would require surgery, her jaw healed on its own during the seven-week rehabilitation, the statement said.

More than 500 people watched as Lily headed out into the water Tuesday from Assateague, according to WJZ.

If people see a seal in the wild, the aquarium recommends giving the animal a wide berth of 100 feet.

Photo Credit: National Aquarium.