Maritime Aquarium Mourns Loss Of Harbor Seal

NORWALK, CT – The staff of the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk said Monday they are mourning the loss of Orange, a 35-year-old harbor seal who had been at the aquarium since 2005.

“We’re always saddened by the loss of any animal at the Aquarium, but seals in particular are hard,” Maritime Aquarium President Brian Davis said in a release. “Our animal-husbandry staff works closely with these animals, day in and day out, for years. They develop a rapport, and understand each seal’s personality. Orange was a very special part of The Maritime Aquarium family.”

Barrett Christie, the Aquarium’s director of animal husbandry, said Orange had been undergoing chemotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma, which is a common form of cancer in seals of Orange’s advanced age.

He added that Orange lived 10 years beyond the median lifespan for seals in aquariums, and 15 years beyond the life expectancy of harbor seals in the wild. A necropsy is being performed Monday at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Orange was found stranded as a pup shortly after being born in late May 1982. She was rescued and rehabilitated at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. In 1991, she moved to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and was there until 2005, when she came to the Maritime Aquarium.

In recent years, Orange received broad recognition as the Maritime Aquarium harbor seal that made an annual Super Bowl “pick.” She correctly picked two winning teams in five tries.

Harbor seals are one of the most common species in New England’s waters. They visit Long Island Sound during the winter months, before returning for summer to their breeding and pupping grounds in the Gulf of Maine.

Of the five other harbor seals at The Maritime Aquarium, the oldest is now a 32-year- old female seal named Rasal. The youngest is Ariel, age 27.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the organization that sets the top standards for animal care and visitor safety at zoos and aquariums. Of the approximately 2,800 animal exhibitors in North America licensed by the USDA, only 230 (8 percent) meet the high standards for accreditation by the AZA.

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Photo credit: Maritime Aquarium