[Hadrian (OP)]

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.

The seal's appearance on a southern beach isn't unprecedented, said Wendy Walton, a veterinarian technician with the Virginia Aquariums stranding program.

A half dozen wayward ice seals have been brought to the facility in the past two months. The seals have been found as far south as Florida and the Caribbean. Walton said it was too early to tell whether the seal would be released.[/size=4]

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.