ROYAL OAK, Mich., December 21, 2009 – A rescued harp seal has arrived from Mystic, Conn., to his new, permanent home at the Detroit Zoo’s Arctic Ring of Life just in time for Christmas.

The 70-pound male seal, believed to be around one year old, was found on a beach in Massachusetts in August and was taken to Mystic Aquarium.  A medical exam revealed that he had congenital blindness and likely would not survive if returned to the ocean.

“We’re happy we can provide a home for this little guy who can’t be returned to his natural habitat,” said Scott Carter, the Detroit Zoo’s Chief Life Sciences Officer.  “The Arctic Ring of Life is a great place for seals and we think he’ll do very well here.”

The Arctic Ring of Life encompasses over four acres of outdoor and indoor habitats, making it North America’s largest polar bear and seal exhibit.  A unique feature of the award-winning attraction is the Frederick and Barbara Erb Polar Passage, where visitors walk through a 70-foot-long clear underwater tunnel as polar bears and seals swim around them.

“We are very pleased that we were able to find such a wonderful home for this seal,” said Janelle Schuh, stranding coordinator at Mystic Aquarium.  “The Detroit Zoo not only had an interest in housing him, but it also has high standards of animal care and will educate the public about this species.”

The harp seal (Phoca groenlandica), also known as a saddleback seal, is native to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.  Adult males normally weigh around 300 pounds and can live 30 years in captivity.  It is considered a threatened species due to commercial hunting and climate change.  Harp seals rely on sea ice for breeding, and there is concern about the effects of shrinking sea ice on these and other arctic animals.

The Detroit Zoo is the only zoo in the United States to care for harp seals.  The rescued seal – named Pequot (pee’ kwat) after a Native American tribe that originated in Connecticut – joins the Zoo’s only other harp seal, an adult male named Mack, who was rescued from a beach in Maryland in 1997 after having been shot.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through Labor Day and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day after Labor Day through October.  Admission is $11 for adults 15 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 14; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day); admission is free.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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