Baby Seal Spotted Wandering Streets of New York

This is not something you see every day.

While the state is certainly known for its share of wildlife, it isn't too common to find a seal flopping along in the middle of a busy road right in front of you. However, experts from the New York Marine Rescue Center say it's seal season, which is that time of year when the aquatic mammals and humans both share the nearby beaches together. Be on the lookout for these hungry travelers.

CNN says that officials were called to reports of a baby harbor seal passing through a traffic circle Sunday. Police say that witnesses first spotted the visitor in a parking lot, before making its way through the entrance of the Budget Host Inn. The Southampton Town Police Department jokingly shared the update to their Facebook page that the seal was later "detained' and then 'taken into custody".

But how did the animal end up in the middle of the road? Sergeant Jim Cavanagh told CNN:

What we believe happened is that the seal swam up the Peconic River, probably behind a big school of alewife fish..

 

The seal probably climbed up out of the river ending up in a park.

CNN reports that the New York Marine Rescue Center sent their people to rescue the lost pinniped. The seal was then brought to a rehabilitation center in Riverhead.

Harbor seals often spend several days out at sea, but can also swim more than a hundred miles upstream into fresh water in large rivers in search of fish. They can be spotted at their usual resting sites along rocky coasts, such as those of the shorelines of Long Island or New England.