Andre the Seal
Paul VanDerWerf
Tucked on the bottom of a page in Section A of the New York Times’ July 21, 1986 edition is a two-paragraph article headlined “Andre the Seal Dies in Maine; Delighted Tourists for Years.” It’s remarkable that a seal from Maine – or any seal, really – would get coverage in the New York Times, but Andre was no typical seal. Over 25 years, the harbor seal became beloved to locals in his home port of Rockport and to people around the world.
In May of 1961, Rockport resident Harry Goodridge took his boat out to a location where harbor seals liked to rest on shore. Goodridge had a skin-diving side business and was looking for a seal pup he could train to accompany him. He knew there was one recently born pup who he believed to be without a mother. When that pup swam toward Goodridge’s boat, he scooped the pup up with a net and brought the pup to his home along Rockport Harbor where he became part of Goodridge’s family and the larger community.
Over a quarter of a century, Andre would come and go from his pen in the water in the harbor, sometimes staying at the New England Aquarium in Boston, but he always returned to Goodridge and Rockport where he would entertain tourists with the tricks Goodridge had taught him. He was buried at Goodridge’s home in 1986.
Andre’s memory is commemorated in Rockport, where his likeness is preserved as a stone statue at the harbor park. His story has been retold in documentaries, film, and books, not just because it is unusual, but because it reveals both the possibilities of the human–animal bond and the lasting mark a single animal can leave on a community.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard
