A young seal found itself in an unlikely place Sunday, on a snowy street amid shops and restaurants in Connecticut.
The seal was found Sunday in New Haven, according to New Haven Police Officer Christian Bruckhart, who noted that a call about a seal on a city street is not one police are used to receiving.
"I'm sure they thought it was a joke, but it was not," Bruckhart said, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH-TV. "It was a seal in the street."
Police stayed with the seal, estimated to be 5 to 6 weeks old, until officials from the nearby Mystic Aquarium arrived.
Francesca Battaglia, an animal rescue technician for the aquarium, said the seal had been spotted the day prior, on Feb. 15, near an oyster bar in New Haven. Officials moved the seal to the beach at the time, but the seal found its way back to city streets, according to Battaglia.
"He's probably just lost and figured that these are my instincts, but unfortunately, with the area being so developed, it's not actually a safe place for him," she told WTNH, adding later, "It definitely was concerning for us when we say he was amidst all that hustle and bustle of the city."
The seal is now at the Mystic Aquarium, where he'll stay until he's ready to return to the wild.
"We want him to be able to hunt on his own and catch what he needs to support himself," Battaglia said.
