SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott police were asking residents to give some room to roam to a baby seal who set up shop on Phillips Beach Tuesday morning.

Police said they cordoned off an area of the beach that was off-limits to visitors in the hopes that the seal would soon make its way back to the ocean.

Police provided an update late Tuesday afternoon that the seal was safely back in the water.

"Our baby seal friend made their own way back to the ocean after taking a great nap on the beach," police said. "Thanks to all the concerned people who made us aware of the situation."

Police said residents should take extra care when walking dogs off-leash near the beach because "even a baby seal will defend itself and can cause significant injuries."

The North Shore, of course, is no stranger to seal visits after Shoebert the 4-year-old gray seal enjoyed a much-celebration weeklong stay in Beverly's Shoe Pond in September. Shoebert eventually made his way to the nearby police station, where he was "taken into custody" and then transported to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut for a checkup and was released off the Rhode Island coast.

At last report, Shoebert had returned to the waters off of the North Shore, so perhaps the word is getting around the herd that the North Shore is the place to be for seals on the lam.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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