Hospital workers see a lot of unusual things, but what Mike Gherrien discovered loitering at the entrance of Mercy Hospital in Portland early this morning has people talking. Gherrien, who was shoveling snow for Mercy's property service, says he encountered a young gray seal, which had somehow wandered up a steep embankment and crossed four lanes of traffic to reach the hospital. Gherrian says he alerted hospital security, and a marine mammal expert was dispatched, and with some gentle coaxing, the seal was escorted back to the Fore River, which empties into Portland Harbor. Gherrien talks with Maine Things Considered host Tom Porter.

Maine Things Considered host Tom Porter talks with Mike Gherrien, of Buxton, who helped coax the wayward seal back to the Fore River, after the seal showed up on the doorstep of Mercy Hospital in Portland.