What one resident thought was a human foot at the water’s edge in New Haven turned out to be the front flipper of a seal, according to police.
Police said the resident spotted part of a carcass at Fort Nathan Hale Park on Woodward Avenue on Thursday afternoon and reported it to authorities.
The caller said it appeared to contain a human foot, but investigators soon realized it was a seal’s pectoral flipper, which is similar in structure to the forelimbs of land mammals, according to police.
Police have not identified the type of seal but said the state’s gray seal population has recently increased.
They’re working to remove the carcass and said the city’s Department of Public Works or Parks Department may take over the responsibility of disposing of it.
It’s not clear why the animal died.
