Phil The Seal Healing At National Aquarium After Being Rescued From Delaware River

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A seal stranded in dangerous muddy conditions in Delaware is undergoing rehabilitation in Baltimore at the National Aquarium.

Marcus Washington has more on the injuries and the current condition of the seal.

A seal named Phil came to the National Aquarium rescue team dehydrated and with an eye infection. Phil is now swimming around and eating a healthy diet of raw fish.

He was in a different spot when he arrived in Baltimore on April 11, after getting stuck in a muddy area with little water in central Delaware.

At 120 pounds the one-year-old harbor seal was dehydrated and had a serious eye infection when he arrived at the National Aquarium's rehabilitation facility in Fells Point. It's the only facility of its kind in the state.

Rehabilitation manager at the National Aquarium, Kate Shaffer says he "wondered down a tributary that had dried up and wasn't a suitable habitat for him any longer, and his body condition was starting to deteriorate."

"He was on antibiotics, which we just recently stopped his course of antibiotics, so he is in better body condition than most of the seals we admit into rehab. So we really have high hopes that he will make a full recovery," says Shaffer.

Within eight days, things are turning around for Phil. He's getting better, ready to return to the wild.

"Everyday we get to return an animal back to its environment is always a positive and always a great feeling," says Shaffer,

Phil is eating on his own. His diet is being increased. Phil could be released as early as next month, but that all depends on the recovery of his eye.

This particular seal, a harbor seal, is not endangered, but it is protected by the marine mammal protection act. Phil is the only animal in the national aquarium's rehab right now.

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