Seal released in RI waters

CHARLESTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) - As onlookers clapped and snapped pictures, an adult male harp seal made his way back into the ocean Tuesday morning at Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources rescued the seal Jan. 15. and took him to the Mystic Aquarium's Seal Rescue Clinic in Connecticut. Staff members there said the seal was thin and severely dehydrated when he came to them.

Over the course of several weeks, the seal was given antibiotics for an elevated white blood cell count and treated for his dehydration. Once he made a full recovery, aquarium staff decided it was time to release him back into the wild.

The release was the clinic's first of the season.