While most tri-staters were still trying to thaw out from this year's record-breaking Valentine's Day freeze, a lone seal on the Hudson River seemed perfectly content to hang out on the ice Monday.
NBC 4 New York viewer Megan Viscovich said she and her co-workers in Edgewater, New Jersey, spotted the seal from their office overlooking the river.
"It was a young seal and seemed to be full of life, looked like it was waving and flapping its rear fins," she said in an email.
Viscovich said the Edgewater Fire Department and an NYPD harbor unit responded. The NYPD said its divers worked with Edgewater firefighters to help the seal get back into the river.
"It is common for seals to be seen during this time of the year as they follow the food source and at times take rests on the banks or the ice of the river," said NYPD Sgt. Brendan Ryan.
Because this week's coastal waters will have high winds and high waves, "there will more than likely be seals coming ashore to rest after their long swim from northern waters," according to the Jersey Shore-based Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
People should stay at least 50 yards away from resting seals.
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"Seals may sometimes let you walk right up to them but rest assured, they will defend themselves and can deliver a nasty bite," the MMSC said.
