Baby Seal Walks a Mile on Land to Animal Shelter
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A lost little baby seal looking for a home waddled its way on land for nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) on asphalt, and where he ended up may have just saved his life.
Photo CBS 13
The 15 pound (6.8 kilos) seal pup made his unbelievable journey for the ‘March of the Seals’ along the streets of a Northern California town from the Pacific Ocean and ended up at all places, the door to the Tracy Animal Shelter, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Sacramento.
He may look adorable, but the 5 month old Northern Fur Seal displayed his feisty instincts when he bared his razor sharp teeth to animal control officers whilst they snared him with a catch pole.
Lenny, as they’ve called him, will not be going up for adoption to be ‘Pet of the Week.’
Photo CBS 13
Unable to care for him at the animal shelter, rescuers brought Lenny closer to his own natural habitat to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
The seal pup is currently recovering in ICU at the hospital. Doctors say the seal is swimming and eating, but he’s severely malnourished. His chances for survival are still touch and go, but he’s already survived against all odds by making his way first to the animal shelter.
Watch the incredible video from the news team at CBS 13 here.
The Northern Fur Seal is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, and the largest member of the fur seal subfamily.
Pups are blackish at birth, with variable oval areas of buff on the sides, chin and sides of the muzzle. After 3 to 4 months, pups molt to the color of adult females. Adult females have more complex and variable coloration than adult males, dark-silver-gray to charcoal in color. The flanks, chest, sides, and underside of the neck are cream to tan with rusty tones. There are variable cream to rust-colored areas on the sides and top of the muzzle, chin, and as a ‘brush stroke’ running backwards under the eye. Adult males are medium gray to black, or reddish to dark brown all over.
Males can be as large as 6.8 feet (2.1 meters) long and 595 pounds (270 kilos). Females can be up to 4.9 feet (1.5 meters) long and 110 pounds (50 kilos) or more. Newborns weigh about 12 pounds (5.5 kilos), and are 24 to 26 inches (60 to 65 centimeters) long.
Features of both fore and hind flippers are unique and indicative of the species. Fur is absent on the top of the fore flippers with an abrupt ‘clean shaven line’ across the wrist where the fur ends. The hind flippers are proportionately the longest. The ears are long and conspicuous, and barren of fur at the tips in older animals. Their whiskers can be very long, and typically extend beyond the ears. The eyes are proportionately large and conspicuous, especially on females and juveniles.
Fur seals’ feeding behavior is primarily solitary, mainly noshing on ocean fish and squid depending on local availability.
Northern Fur Seals are preyed upon largely by shark and orcas, but the very young are occasionally eaten by stellar sea lions and Arctic foxes. Due to very high densities of pups on reproductive rookeries and the early age at which mothers begin their foraging trips, mortality can be relatively high.
There has been roughly a 50% decrease in pup-production in the Pribilof Islands since the 1970’s with a continued drop in pup production of about 6-7% per year. This has caused them to be listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and has led to an intensified research program into their behavioral and foraging ecology. Possible causes are increased predation by orcas, competition with fisheries and climate change effects.
Northern Fur Seals with Pups
Northern Fur Baby Seal
Sources: WCBSTV, CBS 13 and Wikipedia
Tags:animal animals bizarre Northern Fur Seal odd seals unusual
wow how incredible….obviously Lenny had an angel on his shoulder….
they are beautiful creatures…..and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Lenny
Lenny’s lucky stars were certainly working for him Kim. Here’s hoping they continue.
SO cute!