Shoebert the seal is back on the North Shore
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
BEVERLY -- A viral seal sensation returns to the North Shore after being released in Rhode Island. His name is Shoebert. Locals gave him the moniker after the seal showed up in Shoe Pond in Beverly.
"That's pretty typical for harbor seals," says Patricia Leonard, manager of the Pinniped Department at the New England Aquarium, "They know their orientation and know where they are finding their food or head back to finding his best food source."
At one point, Shoebert was caught on video waddling his way to the Beverly Police Department. The marine mammal was taken to the Mystic Aquarium Rescue Clinic before being released back into waters off of Rhode Island. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) placed a tracker on Shoebert. This week, that device pinged the animal back on the North Shore.
"He may be an animal that has found a unique food source right off the coast of the North Shore, so he doesn't have to travel anywhere for the rest of the year," says Leonard.
While there have been people claiming to have spotted Shoebert back in particular locations, NOAA will only say he is in the North Shore area. The organization also doesn't want people rushing to try to find him.
"There is always the potential an animal can interact too closely with a human environment," explains Leonard, "They don't know the human dangers."