By Associated Press - Wednesday, May 13, 2020

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (AP) - A harbor seal pup found sick on a Maine beach last week made a speedy recovery.

The pup has been transferred to a rehabilitation center in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, for further treatment, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

The seal pup was just three days old when he was discovered by two people on a beach near Scarborough, Maine, on May 6, according to the Marine Mammals of Maine.

Officials said the pup was suffering from a respiratory infection, elevated kidney levels, lethargy, and dehydration when he was found stranded on the beach.

“He was moving, but he wasn’t going to survive without his mom,” said Lynda Doughty, the executive director for the Marine Mammals of Maine.

After being rescued, the pup was given fluids through an IV and fed with a tube every four to five hours, Doughty said.

He started to feel better within days and Doughty said the pup also became more vocal and was given a stuffed animal to suckle on.

The organization wrote in a Facebook post that once the pup regained his appetite, he was active enough to be moved into a bigger enclosure.

He was taken to the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay on Tuesday where he will continue to receive medical care as well as long-term rehabilitation.

Marine life officials are not sure how the seal pup and his mother got separated. Around 40 to 50 pups are stranded in Maine each year. Doughty said the organization usually lets them find their way back into the wild on their own.

The pups are only brought to the center if they are sick and won’t survive without medical attention.

“People should report when they see a stranded pup, but they also should give it space so the mom will come back,” Doughty said. “Bringing them back to the rehabilitation center is pretty stressful for seal pups, and the best option for helping a pup is to reunite it with mom.”

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