Arctic Ice Seal Found on N.C. Beach

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. Sep 16, 2006 (AP)— A wayward Arctic ice seal was found Friday on a beach in southern North Carolina, far from its usual habitat.

The 4-foot-long seal didn't seem to be emaciated and growled at beachgoers at Wrightsville Beach, said Ann Pabst, a marine biologist at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. It was taken to the state aquarium.

"An ice seal, by definition, is out of habitat when it's found this far south," Pabst said.