Mystic -- Mystic Aquarium has announced that a gray seal rescued in Bermuda last month has arrived at the aquarium for further rehabilitation with the goal of releasing it in the colder waters of the North Atlantic.

The female seal named Lou-Seal arrived last Wednesday after a chartered flight to Newark, N.J.

Gray seals in the Western Atlantic generally live in coastal areas from Canada to the northeastern United States but are generally not found in Bermuda. 

The seal was rescued off of a rocky shoreline near Tobacco Bay, St. George’s, Bermuda, by Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo on March 19. It is believed to be the first case of a gray seal in Bermuda. The seal was emaciated with multiple small wounds, nasal discharge and dehydration. BAMZ, though lacks the required quarantine space to care for large marine mammals for any length of time. Additionally, the primary diet for the seal had to be imported to Bermuda and the amount increased rapidly as the seal began to improve.

Last Wednesday, Canadian-based Cargojet donated a chartered flight to transport the seal from Bermuda to Newark Liberty International Airport. After Lou-Seal cleared inspection with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mystic Aquarium staff drove the seal to the aquarium’s Animal Rescue Clinic.

"Any time that you can help an animal in need it is rewarding, but to be a part of such a huge collaborative effort to help this wayward seal is really something,” said Janelle Schuh, the manager of Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program. “It is truly inspiring how so many people worked together toward the success of this animal.”