What would you do if you saw an animal that refuses to return where it came from?
It was half past one in the morning when members of the Public Works from Cape Elizabeth saw something unusual when they were plowing a blanket of snow off the road.
It was small, like a bag.
It was moving, but not on all fours.
Encountering wildlife in the middle of the night isn’t new, but for the plowers, this is something worth calling the authorities for.
The Cape Elizabeth Police department received what they described as “an unusual call.”
The plowers saw a seal in the middle of the road.
Members of the police force responded to the call before the seal could get hurt.
They located the seal in the area where it was “enjoying the hush of a snowy winter night,” as their Facebook post said.
Fortunately, they were able to capture the seal and bring it to Fort Williams Park, where the seal was released back into the waters.
It wasn’t the last time they’d see the seal, however.
“We did not know it at the time, but this seal was committed to his goal of exploring Cape Elizabeth,” the police department’s Facebook post said.
At around 7:00 AM of the same day, they received another unusual call.
People saw a seal traversing or bouncing its way down Shore Road.
In their initial investigation, they hypothesized that the seal was following the scent of Cookie Jar donuts, an establishment in the area.
They released the seal once more in Fort Williams Park.
An hour later, though, people saw a small animal bouncing about the area.
With the seal’s stubbornness and determination, the police finally called the experts from the Marine Mammals of Maine to help them out.
The seal was acting away from its instincts, and it worried the people involved in the case.
And it turns out their worries were well-founded.
The Marine Mammals of Maine determined it was a small seal pup that had recently weaned from his mom.
They also emphasized that the seal was “having a tough time on his own.”
The seal was also underweight, which prompted the organization to do a fundraiser for the seal’s nourishment.
“This little traveler will require extensive support to get him back to the wild again, but we are committed to getting him home,” the organization’s Facebook post said.
Of the $5,000 they intended to raise for the seal and the other animals under their care, the organization raised more than $7,000.
With the conclusion of the case, people can’t help but play jokes about the situation.
“He was probably trying to REPORT a whale trying to eat him, but you kept tossing him back in,” joked one commenter.
“Feel like this is a missed opportunity to call yourselves, ‘Seal Team Six,'” another one said.
Lastly, a comment also commended the efforts of the people involved:
“I’m glad we have such compassionate police officers, snow plowers, and residents in this community. Way to go!”
Click the video below to learn more about this stubborn little seal.
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