Seal's wayward waddle ends with a rescue in Riverside

A wayward gray seal waddled into the parking lot of a Riverside beverage shop Sunday morning and waddled out with Southampton Town cops in pursuit before the chase ended and a marine rescue group took the animal in.

Southampton Police received a 911 call about 6:30 a.m. reporting a seal in the parking lot of Thrifty Beverage on Lake Avenue, south of Riverhead’s Main Street and the Peconic River, in the hamlet of Riverside. Police responded and the spooked seal crossed the street toward the Budget Host East End Hotel, authorities said. Officers were able to capture the seal after surrounding it, according to Southampton Town police.

The animal was captured by Southampton police and turned over to the Riverhead-based New York Marine Rescue Center. The animal is being evaluated and cared for by the rescue group and will be released at a later date, police said.

Police believe the animal was feeding on the alewives, fish that migrate upstream to spawn in the Peconic River.

Southampton Town Police Sgt. James Cavanagh said police often get calls of seals this time of year, but he cannot recall a time one was spotted moving down a roadway so far from a beach. Easy pickings on the glut of fish in the nearby Peconic River, he said, is likely what lured it in from the bay.

“The Peconic Bay at this time of the year gets filled with these river herring,” Cavanagh said. “If you go by sometimes, you could almost walk across the fish.”

Video shared with the rescue center depicted the seal climbing the man-made fish passage in Grangebel Park and onto dry land, said executive director Maxine Montello.

A veterinarian will examine the seal Monday, but it appeared to be in good health, Montello said. She estimated the animal to be about three months old and said it’s normal to spot seals in the Peconic River near the foundation’s headquarters at the Long Island Aquarium building on East Main Street.

Gray seals often head out on their own after they stop nursing at about four weeks and stay solitary until they reach maturity.

“Most of the time, they're healthy, curious little gray seals, just a little bit too far from the beach,” Montello said, adding that the organization fielded about 20 seal stranding on Sunday alone. “It's not abnormal for them to be alone, looking for food and looking for a place to rest.”

She reminded those who spot the pinnipeds to stay 150 away and to report strandings to her organization's hotline, 631-369-9829.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.