Lost Baby Seal Found Ready To Cross The Road

AMAGANSETT, NY — A baby gray seal who lost his way and was found ready to cross the road was rescued Tuesday.

According to Chuck Bowman, president of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, a call came in about 4 p.m. about the month-old male seal pup, who had come ashore near the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett.

"This time of year, that's normal behavior," Bowman said. "They're weaned at a very young age and come ashore to rest."

What's interesting about this seal pup, Bowman said, is that he could have used a GPS.

"Instead of going back in the water, he decided to head west, up the road a bit. A passerby near the beach found him about to cross the road. We're calling him a lost seal without a compass."

The person who found the seal called the Riverhead Foundation; the organization brought him back to the rescue center in Riverhead.

"He appears to be healthy," Bowman said. The seal pup is about 2 feet long, he said. "He's very small, very cute — but he'll bite you as soon as look at you," he said. "This one is very feisty."

The seal is being examined by a vet and blood tests are being done to see if he needs any treatment "or he can be put back where he should be, in the bay," Bowman said. "Except we have to give him some sort of GPS so he can find his way around."

Of the happy ending, Bowman said, "It's great."

He added that the Riverhead Foundation has done a lot this year with cold stunned sea turtles, too — there are currently about 11 or 12 at the rescue center, which were found during the late fall and early winter when the temperatures took a plunge.

Photo courtesy Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.