A wayward seal pup was rescued by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center on Wednesday after it was seen wandering the streets of Ocean City, a Facebook post from the rescue agency said Thursday.
The male grey seal pup was reported to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center by locals that kept an eye on the pup’s movements along the roadway after it emerged from the bay. The stranding center found the seal on West Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets
The seal moved through a backyard and down a sidewalk before trying to shuffle down the middle of 42nd Street, where he had a few close calls with vehicles, according to the stranding center, which is raising money for the seal’s care.
The seal traveled approximately a quarter mile in 20 minutes and crossed several intersections as the pup tried to reach the ocean, the stranding center said in a Facebook post.
The pup, which is between 4 and 6 weeks old and weighed almost 29 pounds, was dehydrated from the attempted migration from bay to beach. The stranding center gave the seal a mixture of formula and electrolytes for rehydration.
“He was in pretty bad shape,” stranding center Director Sheila Dean said in a phone call Thursday night. “It usually takes four to six weeks before we release baby seals after a rescue, but we’ll know more once the vet has a look at him.”
Dean said that the vet will likely evaluate the pup on Friday, come up with a course of action to rehabilitate the seal and then eventually release him back into the ocean.
This is the second seal the stranding center rescued from a roadway this season.
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