Beverly's Beloved 'Shoebert' Seal Released Into Ocean Off RI Coast

BEVERLY, MA — Shoebert, you're free.

The 4-year-old gray seal affectionately named "Shoebert" during his week splashing around Beverly's Shoe Pond to the delight of North Shore workers and residents was given a "clean bill of health" at Mystic Aquarium over the weekend and satellite tagged in preparation for his release on Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Division said that Shoebert was released back into the ocean on Tuesday — and just may be headed back this way.

"Gray seals can travel great distances, often traveling from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia in a matter of days," NOAA said. "It will be fun to see where he decides to travel next."

He was released off the Rhode Island coast in a known gray seal habitat.

(Also on Patch: Sealed With A Kiss: Shoebert's Endearing Week In Beverly's Shoe Pond)

Shoebert spent eight days in the upper and lower Shoe Pond at Beverly's Cummings Center, before waddling his way over to the Beverly Police Station late Thursday night. Beverly police, NOAA crews and Beverly Animal Control were able to secure him and then transport him to the Connecticut aquarium for observation.

As it turned out, he had a yellow tag on his rear flipper — meaning he had already been rehabilitated and released once before.

"We were able to match the spots and scar on his face with a known case and identify it as a male roughly 4 to 5 years old," NOAA said. "He had previously stranded on Cape Cod with extensive injuries to his face and hind flippers."

The Mystic Aquarium also treated him then and released him in August 2018 after four months of rehabilitation for a bone infection and removing one hind digit.

After arriving at Mystic Aquarium from Beverly this time around, he was examined and determined to be a healthy, 235-pound seal.

As North Shore residents await a possible return, Shoebert's impact on the region will not soon be forgotten.

On Wednesday night, the historic Cabot Theater in Beverly celebrated the seal's stay in Shoe Pond with a showing of the 1994 film "Andre" complete with Shoebert T-Shirts from Sully's Brand's new Rantoul Street location and Shoebert treats from Delphine's Kitchen at 261 Cabot Street.

"Thank you, Shoebert for visiting the city of Beverly and more importantly putting your faith in the Beverly Police Department to help you get back to where you belong," Beverly police said on Wednesday. "You may not know it but you brought the city of Beverly a lot closer and spread joy and happiness to many across the globe.

"For that we are all truly thankful."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)