Richard Ponzi often visits the marshy woods of the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge to feed stray cats.
But on Tuesday, he noticed a larger animal along the water. At first, he thought it might be a dead deer.  

"This is actually about as far as I came; she was just over 10, 15 feet over,” said Ponzi. “She started moving and I realized, [it] can't.”

It was a seal along a shallow waterway well inland—much closer to the Arthur Kill, which separates Western Staten Island from New Jersey, than to Staten Island's East Shore, where seals have become a more common sight in recent years.

Ponzi told NY1, "She got lost."

Ponzi said he was worried the seal was injured or sick, because it was so far from its usual waters and didn't seem to move much.

He called the state’s Department of Environmental  Conservation (DEC). Officers showed up a short time later to check the seal out.

"He looked to be in good health,” said DEC Officer Max Woyton.  “His head was up, he seemed to know what was going on; he was aware when we walked up and then he jumped back into the water. So he looked to be fine."

DEC officers say it's not uncommon for seals to venture on land at this time of year and give themselves a break from the water.

They do say it's the first time they've seen one on land here, at this location. But as they watched it make its way toward deeper waters, they felt confident it would find its way back home.

“If he got in here, he should be able to get out,” The officer tells us.

Experts say the biggest concern about a seal spending time on land is people.

So if you happen to cross paths with one, stay away from it for your safety and the safety of the animal.