Odd News

Arctic seal rescued after long journey to Iceland

By Ben Hooper   |   Jan. 21, 2020 at 5:21 PM
A ringed seal pup was rescued by police in Iceland after making a long swim from the Arctic. Photo courtesy of the South Peninsula Region Police

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Police in Iceland responded to an unusual call when an Arctic seal wandered far away from home and ended up in a harbor.

The Southern Peninsula Region Police said in a Facebook post that officers responded Friday to a report of a seal pup acting strangely in Njarovik harbor.

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Police took the seal to the Reykjavik Family Park and Zoo, where veterinarians said it was suffering from malnutrition and an eye infection.

The seal was identified as a ringed seal, a species native to the Arctic. Experts said young ringed seals are known to wander far from their native habitat and have been spotted in Iceland before.

The zoo said the young seal will be released back into the wild once it is recovered.