BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) - A seal who grew to be a spectacle at Shoe Pond in Beverly brought himself to authorities on Friday morning, allowing humans to take him in and to an aquarium where he is set to fully recover.
Shoebert the seal evaded capture for weeks while staying in Beverly, where he drew crowds of adoring fans. But come Friday morning, he had enough, opting to leave the pond and crawl up to the Beverly Police station at 2:30 a.m.
Rescuers from Beverly Animal Control, the fire department and marine animal experts were able to corral him into a crate without too much effort, with officials noting that he appeared to be in good health.
“They tried to open the gate and get him into the parking lot but that didn’t work so we ended up making a circle on the grass and surrounding him with plastic tables,” said one of the rescuers.
Beverly’s favorite, formerly rogue seal was then taken to Mystic Aquarium for observation before he is eventually released. But the 4-year-old marine mammal has been there before.
“So, back in 2018, he was with us for about two to three months, and was released in Rhode Island,” said Sarah Callan, the manager of the animal rescue program at Mystic Aquarium.
Callan said Shoebert made the trip to Connecticut safely and was as feisty as ever, to boot.
“He is a feisty, feisty male seal,” Callan said. “To be honest, any wild seal is going to be feisty, especially when they are scared.”
She added that Shoebert’s stint at Mystic is likely to be a short one before he is released again. She also said he will be visible to the public during this time.
“So people can kinda come get their last goodbye, essentially, and come visit him one more time,” she said.
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