Stranded harbor seal pup released in Juneau

Published 4:53 am Friday, September 19, 2014

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — An abandoned harbor seal pup that narrowly avoided death by seagull was returned to the wild off a Kodiak Island beach. The seal was released Wednesday by representatives of the Alaska SeaLife Center.

A kayaker in June spotted the seal on an island in Kalsin Bay. Gulls were pecking at the 4-day-old pup, which still had its umbilical cord attached.

The SeaLife Center’s Halley Werner says the pup would not have survived. It was skinny, dehydrated and wounded when it reached the center in Seward.