A baby seal rescued from a Connecticut street dies at an aquarium

Mar 05, 2025

A baby seal found stranded on a street near Connecticut’s Yale University last month has died from severe digestive issues, a local aquarium announced Monday.

Mystic Aquarium said “Chappy,” a nod to Chapel Street in New Haven where he was rescued, died while recovering at its Animal Rescue Clinic.

“The Mystic Aquarium staff are proud that they were able to give Chappy the best chance possible and are devastated by this outcome,” the aquarium wrote on Facebook. “The reality of working with stranded animals can be tough sometimes, but Chappy was surrounded by love until the very end.”

The underweight gray seal pup was brought to the clinic on Feb. 16 after being spotted by a passerby, who reported to police that the animal was potentially injured.

The seal, which was believed to be about 5 to 6 weeks old, was more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the nearest river.

The aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, said Chappy had been responding well to treatment for dehydration, malnutrition and a mild pneumonia but began having digestive difficulties as he transitioned to eating whole fish.

A necropsy found Chappy suffered from “mesenteric torsion,” a challenging condition in which his intestines were “twisted around the mesentery, cutting off blood supply to a large portion of the gastrointestinal tract,” according to the aquarium.

“Unfortunately, despite all the efforts, his gastrointestinal issues were too severe to treat, and he succumbed to his disease,” the aquarium said.

Gray seals are found in coastal waters across the North Atlantic Ocean and typically feast on fish, crustaceans, squid, octopuses, and sometimes seabirds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.