A man was recently commuting to work at around 7am in Seabrook, Massachusetts when he noticed something odd on the side of the road. The man pulled over to get a closer look, and the closer he got to it, the more confused he was as to what it was.

At first, the man thought it was a pile of debris or a mass of some sort that had been left there after a recent storm ripped through the area days before. It was only when he got close to it that the man realized the object was alive and breathing.

The man then discovered that the object was actually a baby seal who needed help as soon as possible.

“The seal more than likely came up with the extremely high flood tide around 2 a.m., as a result of the storm,” said Ashley Stokes, rescue manager at Seacoast Science Center (SSC). “Once he was up there, he likely realized pretty quickly that it was a more desirable spot than being battered by the high surf, and stayed put. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that it was not a good spot for him to be in!”

Just two months old, the baby seal was in grave danger of being hit by a car. The man who found the seal called the police, who sent in a rescue team from SSC. The team got the seal off the highway and moved him to a parking lot. After observing the seal’s behavior, the team came to the conclusion that he would not have survived much longer had they not found him.

“We were able to immediately determine that he was not ‘himself’ when we first arrived on scene. Gray seal weanlings should be very aggressive when approached,” Stokes explained. “But this little one allowed us to get right beside him and move him into the kennel, with no fight at all.”

The baby seal collapsed as soon as it got in the kennel, as he had taken a major beating when he was tossed around by the sea.

The baby seal was transferred to the National Marine Life Center where he was given the name Saco.

“We quickly realized that his blood sugar was extremely low and he was critically dehydrated,” Stokes said. “Luckily, X-rays did not reveal any serious injuries, so the big priorities now are to get his blood sugar and hydration level back to normal, and then get him to start eating fish on his own again.”

After a few days of treatment, Saco started to get more energized and to act like his normal self. This has made experts believe he has a good chance of making a full recovery!

Since getting to the NMLC, Saco has earned worldwide fame due to his story going viral. However, NMLC officials say their main focus remains on his recovery at this time.

“Although Saco has been all over the news recently, he hasn’t let the fame get the best of him! Our gray seal weanling is still enjoying the simple things in life, like some much needed R&R,” NMLC wrote on their Facebook page. “We have been rehydrating him with oral as well as IV fluids and he is more alert than when he first came to us. We are guardedly optimistic that he will continue improving.”

Please keep Saco the seal in your thoughts and prayers as he continues his journey to recovery!