Massachusetts seal that evaded capture turns himself in to police

Locals nicknamed the seal "Shoebert" for the pond at which he was discovered.

Gray seal at Måkläppen nature reserve in Sweden (photo credit: LUCC77/CC BY-SA 4.0/(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Gray seal at Måkläppen nature reserve in Sweden
(photo credit: LUCC77/CC BY-SA 4.0/(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

A gray seal that wandered into a pond and that authorities were unable to catch on Friday "turned himself in" by waddling to the police station, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The seal was initially found in Shoe Pond in Beverly, Massachusetts, where he is believed to have traveled through drainage pipes and a river.

Locals nicknamed the seal "Shoebert" for the pond at which he was discovered.

Seal evades capture by authorities

“He is acting like a typical, feisty, 4-year-old gray seal. We are planning to release him in a quiet, remote location near other seals.”

Sarah Callan, manager of the Mystic Aquarium’s animal rescue program
A group of gray seals on sands at Stiffkey, Norfolk, England (credit: DUNCAN HARRIS/CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
A group of gray seals on sands at Stiffkey, Norfolk, England (credit: DUNCAN HARRIS/CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Authorities who tried to capture the seal used nets and boats but failed to catch it.

On Friday morning, though, the seal left the pond and showed up outside the door of the local police station, where wildlife specialists, firefighters and police corralled the animal, according to AP.

Shoebert was taken to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, where staff members will examine him and then release him back into the wild.

“He is acting like a typical, feisty, 4-year-old gray seal,” said Sarah Callan, the manager of the Mystic Aquarium’s animal rescue program. “We are planning to release him in a quiet, remote location near other seals.”