A young male hooded seal has been returned to the sea by Gloucester's Whale Center of New England after a brief period of rehabilitation.
The seal was first spotted ashore in Lane's Cove on Jan. 15 and looked sick with fatigue among other things, according to Whale Center Stranding Coordinator Heidi Pearson. After a few days of observation, the Whale Center called on experts from the New England Aquarium and Mystic Aquarium to help capture the seal so it could be rehabilitated at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn.
Experts at the aquarium determined that the seal was suffering from "three fractured teeth which were causing infection," and through successful surgery the teeth were removed. A primary concern post-surgery was the seal's ability to catch and eat its food — primarily fish and squid — which it fortunately had no trouble doing. In fact, in the two months that followed the seal stuffed its face gaining a healthy 22 pounds in the process and was deemed ready for re-release into the wild, Pearson said.
Once the door to the young pup's crate was opened — on Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown, R.I. — he began to slowly inch his way towards the surf, looking back briefly at the small crowd that gathered before disappearing into the waves.
While many seals that come ashore are healthy, some are in need of medical attention and Whale Center of New England personnel are trained in assessing the health of seals and other marine mammals, Pearson said.
She advises that, if you do see a seal on shore, do not approach it, but instead call the Whale Center's Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 978-281-6351. The Whale Center of New England is based on Harbor Loop in Gloucester.
Scott Pytlik can be reached at spytlik@gloucestertiume.com
