Stealthy seal pup hides near the Maine shore. Look closely at the photo to spot it
A national park in Maine is challenging people to spot a stealthy seal pup seen near the shore in a photo shared with a reminder for coastal hikers to keep away from marine mammals encountered.
Can you find the baby seal spotted in the picture posted by Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor? It’s not concealed but you may need to take a close look to see it.
“Coastal hikers need to keep ample distance from seals and seal pups that they may encounter along park shorelines,” the park wrote in the April 4 Facebook post.
“Seal pups are weak swimmers at first, and commonly their mothers will leave them for extended periods to rest while they go off to hunt.”
If you haven’t found it yet, the seal pup’s white and gray coloring could be making it tricky to find. The pup isn’t in the water — and it’s not too far away from the camera lens but it’s not too close either.
The pup is resting on the rocks right in the middle of the photo. The baby marine mammal almost blends in perfectly with the similar-colored rocks surrounding him.
Additional zoomed in photos shared by the park shows the seal appears to be of a similar size as the larger rocks seen along the shoreline.
“Seals like to ‘haul out’ to rest, sun themselves on rocky ledges or rocky shorelines on islands,” according to the National Park Service.
“To the average viewer, it may look as if a lone seal is in trouble or has been abandoned, and needs human help.”
However, “please do not attempt to handle, move, or force seals or seal pups to move,” NPS warns online.
Acadia National Park’s post also warned that “disturbing or harassing a marine mammal is a federal crime.”
The park is located roughly 100 miles east of Augusta.
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Stealthy seal pup hides near the Maine shore. Look closely at the photo to spot it."
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