Driving in Provincetown? You might bump into busy traffic as summer crowds gradually subside this month, or spot a celebrity like Lea DeLaria or John Waters — or, if you were out on Saturday night, you might just have seen a seal scooting across the pavement toward its nautical home.
Provincetown police received a call at about 9 p.m. reporting a gray seal that entered the roadway near the AWOL hotel, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.
“The fully grown adult seal appeared to have gotten turned around in the marsh area after the tide had gone out,” police said.
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In a video posted by police, the seal scoots along the asphalt on its flippers and slips under a roadside guardrail as onlookers cheer, clap, and shine a light to help the animal see the path into a marshy area.
“Go ahead, big guy,” a man says encouragingly. “Can somebody give him some light?”
“Good boy! Come on!” a woman shouts. “You better find the water now!”
Four police officers helped clear a path for the seal so it could “return to the beach and ocean,” police said. It was not injured and went back into the water without any issues, according to the post.
“Great work by all involved in assisting this wild animal back to its home safely!” police said
A rather unusual sight to see on tonight’s evening shift. At approximately 9:00pm the evening shift was called to a grey seal who had wandered into the roadway near the AWOL Hotel. The fully grown adult seal appeared to have gotten turned around in the marsh area after the tide had gone out. Sergeant Landry, Sergeant Nolette, Officer Grigoriadis, and Officer McCauley assisted with clearing a path for the seal so it could return to the beach and ocean. The seal was not injured and returned to its natural habitat without issues. Great work by all involved in assisting this wild animal back to its home safely!
Posted by Provincetown Police Department on Saturday, September 16, 2023
Breanne Kovatch can be reached at breanne.kovatch@globe.com. Follow her @breannekovatch.