Rescuers bid farewell to baby seal, released at Tiana Beach

As rescue workers and police bid him farewell, a baby seal that was found wandering at a traffic circle in Riverhead was released Friday into the coastal waters off Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays.

The male gray seal pup, which was named “Peconic” because it is believed the seal originated from the Peconic River, had been cared for by the New York Marine Rescue Center. The seal is about three months old and weigh close to 50 pounds, according to rescuers.

At first appearing shy and tentative after rescue center workers opening his clear confinement case near the sands of the beach, in less than a minute, Peconic instinctively and eagerly waddled down the beach. He slowly made his way back into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the waves pushing him back for about a minute or so before he made his way deeper into the water and disappeared under the waves.

Maxine Montello, rescue program director for the rescue center, said the center had been taking care of Peconic for close to a week, and the seal’s case had not been as difficult as other cases.

“The amount of attention that this little guy got is so great for his species, because now everybody knows that seals are here, they utilize our waters and hopefully now they’ll know what to do next time they see a seal,” Montello said.

People spotted the seal on Sunday waddling through parking lots and the Riverhead traffic circle and subsequently called Southampton Town Police, who managed to keep the seal confined until rescue center workers came to retrieve him.

Southampton Town Police Officer David Santora told reporters that police and the seal were lucky that the traffic was light that day at the traffic circle, and that “he had good karma.”

“It’s a nice end to the story,” Santora said. “It was a good thing that it wasn’t a Monday morning and that the traffic was light. Everything worked out really well. We had some good officers on scene, and everything went very smoothly … they showed us how to corral one, they gave us orders like our sergeants here, and they took care of it.”

The seal was brought back to the rescue center’s facility on E. Main Street in Riverhead where he received a full examination and fluids, and rescuers could monitor his blood work. After several days, the center’s senior veterinarian approved the release of the male pup on Wednesday, according to Montello.

At his age, Peconic’s species usually is expected to initially swim by themselves until they are between three-to-five years old and normally join larger groups of seals, Montello said.

“What you saw today was him playing in the waves,” Montello said. “He hasn’t been in salt water for a couple of days and so he was super excited to get back into that water and hopefully will have a good rest of his life.”