Seal with amputated flipper headed to Niagara Falls aquarium

BRIGANTINE, N.J. – A harbour seal whose rear flipper had to be amputated after being struck by a boat has recovered and is headed to an upstate New York aquarium.

New Jersey’s Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine has been caring for the seal since it was found wounded on a beach in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island earlier this year.

The young male seal had cuts on its back and its rear flipper was nearly severed, requiring it to be amputated.

The injuries make it nearly impossible for the seal to survive in the wild, so centre staff arranged to send the animal to the Aquarium of Niagara in Niagara Falls on Friday.

There it will join six other seals.

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