{"id":166831,"date":"2025-09-19T03:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T03:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166831\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T03:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T03:47:08","slug":"boaters-see-gray-blob-on-engine-and-realize-its-a-baby-trying-to-nurse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166831\/","title":{"rendered":"Boaters See Gray Blob On Engine And Realize It\u2019s A Baby Trying To Nurse"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the cool waters around Phippsburg, Maine, harbor seals can often be spotted basking on rocks or swimming through their ocean home. But recently, area residents noticed a small seal doing something troubling. He was suckling on a boat propeller, as if mistaking the object for his mother.<\/p>\n

\"sealMarine Mammals of Maine<\/p>\n

\u201c[He] would swim away and come back, crying out, searching for Mom,\u201d Marine Mammals of Maine<\/a> executive director Lynda Doughty told The Dodo. \u201cHe was cold and shivery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"sealMarine Mammals of Maine<\/p>\n

Concerned residents got in touch with Marine Mammals of Maine, who sent rescuers to the scene right away. Team members found the emaciated orphan collapsed on a pile of seaweed. They looked for the pup\u2019s mom, but couldn\u2019t find her anywhere. He clearly needed help.<\/p>\n

Animal experts examined the pup and predicted he was about 3 days old. They took him back to their rescue center, where they administered fluids and formula, mimicking what his mom would\u2019ve done in the wild.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he had nourishment, he slept a lot,\u201d Doughty said.<\/p>\n

\"babyMarine Mammals of Maine<\/p>\n

Weeks went by, and the seal began eating fish and gaining weight. He enjoyed interacting with the other rescue seals, exploring the center and playing with the fake seaweed in his enclosure.<\/p>\n

\"babyMarine Mammals of Maine<\/p>\n

Soon enough, the seal was ready to return home. Rescuers released him back into the Maine waters and watched in awe as he gratefully swam away into the waves.<\/p>\n

Doughty hopes this story encourages community members to look out for local seals and keep a safe distance if they spot one in the wild.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease give seals their space and share the shore,\u201d Doughty said. \u201cThey were here before us!\u201d<\/p>\n

To help other animals like this seal, you can make a donation to Marine Mammals of Maine<\/a>.\u00a0\"Orphaned<\/a>Orphaned Seal Pup Surprises Rescuers With What She’s Hiding Under Her Fur\u201cWe were all really surprised \u2014 and of course excited!\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the cool waters around Phippsburg, Maine, harbor seals can often be spotted basking on rocks or swimming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3192,616,192,3191,79,4814,615,613,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-166831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-animal-encounters","9":"tag-daily-dodo","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-maeve-dunigan","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-seal","14":"tag-standard","15":"tag-the-dodo","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}