Guess Who's Come Home? Beverly's Shoebert Seal Tracked To North Shore

BEVERLY, MA — Well, that didn't take long.

One week after the 4-year-old gray seal affectionately dubbed "Shoebert" during his weeklong celebrity stay in Beverly's upper and lower Shoe Pond was released off the coast of Rhode Island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on Wednesday that "Shoebert" is back somewhere on the North Shore.

"After his release last week the seal spent some time on Cape Cod before traveling north again," NOAA said on Wednesday. "He was last tracked swimming around the North Shore of Massachusetts.

"Gray seals are often in this area during this time of year, so his presence isn't unusual. We don't really know how seals navigate, but we do know that they are very good at finding their way while traveling at sea."

Shoebert made his journey while the coast has been churned up amid the remnants of Hurricane Ian.

"In all types of weather conditions, day and night, while spending much of their time underwater," NOAA said of seals like Shoebert's ability to navigate the rough seas. "Recent improvements in tracking technology have shown that seals can travel great distances."

Whether Shoebert once again wiggles his way through a culvert into Shoe Pond or waddles his way back over to the Beverly Police Department remains to be seen, but his return will surely be welcomed by those in Beverly and across the North Shore who came together over his unlikely star turn in recent weeks.

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

Shoebert spent a week in Shoe Pond before evading expert crews' attempts to corral him two weeks ago. Later that night, however, he made his own way over land to the Beverly Police Station where he "surrendered" at about 2:30 a.m.

He was taken to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut where it was learned through a tag that the same seal had been treated and released in August 2018 after getting stranded on Cape Cod.

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

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

There are plenty of folks in Beverly and the surrounding communities who were pretty sure they had an inkling just where that might be.

(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.)