Now I know why the cutest little seal pup visited me only when I used to go to Maine in June! That's the time they are most concentrated in Maine's midcoast area. If you're like me and a sucker for all the wildlife of the area, but especially cute little baby animals (I even liked the silly racoons that dumped my garbage every night), then learn more about the current plight of those seals that need a little extra help this year in Maine. Looks like they'll have to go all the way to Connecticut for now!
Seal Rehab Shutdown Comes At Bad Time -- Harbor Seal Pup Season - News Story - WVIT | Hartford: "Maine's coast is the place where harbor seals come to give birth and nurse their pups, from the middle of May through early June. The last estimate, from 2001, put number of harbor seals at 99,340 in Maine, according to James Gilbert, a professor at the University of Maine. That compares to fewer than 10,000 before seals became federally protected in 1972. With all of those seals, it's natural that some pups will become separated from their mothers. They often end up on beaches, Gilbert said."
You might just be inspired to learn more about Andre, the orphaned pup who would winter at the New England Aquarium, and when set loose every year, would travel the 150 miles north to Rockland, Maine. The movie is lame, but the story is legendary.
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