SeaWorld Orlando Caring for Female Harbor Seal Rescued

ORLANDO, Fla. - A wayward female harbor seal was rescued Sunday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) from the Lake Worth Inlet in Palm Beach, Fla. The SeaWorld Animal Rescue Team met up with FWC and transported it to SeaWorld Orlando.

The four-and-a-half-foot-long harbor seal was first reported to NOAA on Saturday morning, where she appeared lethargic and severely underweight and far from her normal waters. 

FWC rescued her on Sunday afternoon. After the transport to SeaWorld Orlando, the park’s Animal Rescue Team and veterinary staff performed a complete health exam and began providing an antibiotic treatment. The harbor seal will receive around-the-clock care, including regular tube feedings and fluids, and her health will continue to be monitored.

As of her last check up this afternoon, the harbor seal is believed to be 2-3 years old, and weighs only 76 pounds, which is very low for a seal her size. Harbor seals of this length and age usually weigh 150 pounds.

Harbor seals are normally seen in the waters near New England and have been seen as far south as South Carolina; it’s not known at this time why the harbor seal was found so far south. Currently at SeaWorld's marine mammal medical facility, the harbor seal is in guarded condition.

In collaboration with the government and other members of accredited stranding networks, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates one of the world’s most respected programs to rescue ill and injured marine animals, with the goal to rehabilitate and return to the waters. SeaWorld animal experts have helped more than 23,000 animals in need - ill, injured, orphaned and abandoned - for more than four decades.

If you see injured marine animal, you can help by calling the FWC hotline at 1(888) 404-3922 or by dialing *FWC on a cellular device.

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