Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Fundraising
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
IMG_6030

Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
20230126_091707

WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Right whale - Regina WDC

Whale and Dolphin Conservation: Change Through Policy.

WDC focuses on education, research, conservation projects, and policy work to create a sustainable future...

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with reports of a young male grey seal who was seen in a pond…of a busy office park!

While this pond technically connects to the ocean, this seal had to travel all the way up a connecting river and through a cement tunnel to make it into Shoe Pond. Unlike whales and dolphins, seals can spend time out of water for many reasons. Teams monitored the seal and kept the public a safe distance away so he could return to the ocean on his own.

This young grey seal stole the hearts of the local community who affectionately named him ‘Shoebert’, and he quickly became a local celebrity (seal-ebrity?). The community followed his every move and made him the mascot of their town with commemorative t-shirts, seal-shaped cookies, hats, costumes, and nearly constant social media coverage.

Shoebert was curious about people and clearly adventurous – and showed no signs of leaving Shoe Pond after more than a week. Because of his tendency to wander, we became worried about his safety and collaborated to develop a plan to relocate Shoebert from the pond if he didn’t return to the ocean soon.

Shoebert crossing sign

Make a donation to support our Marine Animal Rescue and Response program

But, as the saying goes, the best-laid plans often go awry. Just days before Shoebert’s planned relocation, WDC’s MARR team received a call from local responders saying that Shoebert was wandering around a nearby parking lot! This scenario simplified the logistics for a rescue attempt, so we quickly loaded up our gear and deployed our team to meet up with our partners at NOAA Fisheries, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Seacoast Science Center, Mystic Aquarium, and Beverly Animal Control, Fire Department, and Police Department.

Along with being a cold, windy, and VERY rainy day, Shoebert had further complicated the rescue by returning to the water by the time supporting stranding teams arrived.

We had to get creative and try different strategies to capture and relocate him. While surveying the pond in a rowboat, we noticed that Shoebert was curious and swam around the boat. We tried to use this to entice him to shore where we had teams waiting with nets, protective “crowder boards” for corralling, and a kennel for transport, but his natural instinct to avoid humans kicked in. After a long and soggy day of unsuccessful rescue attempts, we packed up and went home as the sun set.

Credit: NOAA
Credit: NOAA
Credit: Beverly Police Department
Credit: Beverly Police Department

We were ready to return the next day in better weather, but Shoebert wasn’t finished with his surprises just yet! In the middle of the night, Shoebert decided to travel across a nearby parking lot where he literally turned himself into the police station near the pond! Security camera footage from the surrounding buildings confirmed that he made quite the journey. Local stranding responders were given a wake-up call and successfully corralled Shoebert into a kennel for safe transport to Mystic Aquarium for a health assessment.

On September 27th, after a complete health assessment by Mystic Aquarium’s veterinary team, Shoebert was cleared for release. He was outfitted with a satellite tag which allowed us to track his movement in near-real time in the days following his release. After a tour of Cape Cod, he headed back to the north shore of Massachusetts (a little too close to Shoe Pond for comfort). Grey seals spend time all throughout the North Atlantic and can travel great distances. We hope that Shoebert is now using his adventurous tendencies to explore his natural habitat!

Credit: Mystic Aquarium
Credit: Mystic Aquarium

Thanks to supporters like you, WDC’s Marine Animal Rescue and Response team was staffed, trained, and well-equipped to ensure a safe future for Shoebert. We are thrilled to be celebrating our one-year anniversary of this program – we are so proud of the responses that you have helped us accomplish and we look forward to expanding the MARR program in our second year.

Share with your pod!

Leave a Comment