Daring Rescue Of Seal That Ended Up in Duck Pond

It was a daring and successful rescue by members of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center team. The team rescued a seal found in a duck pond in Shrewsbury.

How the seal ended up in the muddy pond remains a mystery, but Bob Schoelkopf and stranding staff technician Troy Platt went to the pond with volunteers to save the harp seal from a muddy mess.

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, here's how the rescue happened:

Troy donned a dry suit and safety harness attached to a lifeline, and entered the pond. He immediately sank in the mud, and was now chest deep in the water. Using our specially designed net, Troy was able to capture the seal and bring the frightened animal to the shoreline. With the help of everyone on land, we were able to pull the writhing 200lb seal up the muddy embankment, and carry him through the reeds and thorns 100 yards to our stranding vehicle.

Things began to improve once the seal was brought back to the center, in Brigantine:

... we immediately started the seal on supportive care with fluids and assist feeding fish. He has been placed in our large rehabilitation pool, where he is resting comfortably, swimming well and slowly loosening the caked-on mud off of his body.

The entire story and more photos can be found here: