Underweight Baby Seal Rescued from New Haven Streets and Taken to Aquarium for Care

The five-to-six-week-old gray seal, found dehydrated and far from water, is being rehabilitated at Mystic Aquarium to prepare for its release back into the wild.

• A young gray seal was discovered on Sunday wandering the streets of New Haven, Connecticut, over 1,000 feet from the nearest river.
• The seal, estimated to be five to six weeks old, was dehydrated and underweight, weighing only 28 pounds instead of the typical 35–70 pounds for its age.
• Mystic Aquarium staff had encountered the seal twice before in the area and attempted to release it back to the water, but it returned inland each time.
• The seal is now being rehabilitated at Mystic Aquarium, where it is being fed fish formula and trained to eat fish on its own before eventual release into a safer coastal location.
• Gray seals naturally venture inland for safety, but the seal's repeated appearances in urban New Haven highlight the challenges of developed shorelines for wildlife.

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