He was warned about the “starving artist” life, but talented Houma native and painter Kelly Pierre had other plans.

You never expect a seal to hug a rubber ducky,” said 13-year-old Tom Smith of Boston, on a visit to the New England Aquarium.

It looks like pure play: a harbor seal gleefully chasing a rubber duck. When the 33-year-old Atlantic harbor seal plays fetch with the rubber duck in his habitat built to mimic the region’s rocky ...