Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Foster Home for Russian Seal
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 6, 2005
Modified Mar 14, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 6, 2005
Modified Mar 14, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
In Murmansk, the northern Russian town, an aquarium was looking for humans to become foster parents of a baby harp seal. The cub was rejected his family because he was born grey, not white. Aw! The Agence France-Press reported that "applicants would need a bathtub, salt water for the cub to splash around in and 100 grammes (3.5 ounces) of fish per day, for the moment," until the seal was fully grown (harp seals are born white then turn grey) and would be accepted by his family. That got Gothamist thinking, "Hey, we have a tub, we can buy fish, and we always have salt. We want to have a foster seal cub!" even though it would surely violate some building codes, but given that a man was able to hide a tiger in his apartment, we think we could handle a seal cub.
And Gothamist will look for any excuse to re-run this harp seal photograph from NY Times photographer Suzanne DeChillo. Gothamist went to the downtown pier where this seal had been spotted a few days after the article, but, alas, we couldn't find him. Did anyone have lucky seeing the seal?
Tagged
animals
russian seal
seal
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .