Mystic Aquarium Releases Rehabilitated Gray Seal With A Satellite Tag

Information via Mystic Aquarium

MYSTIC, CT – After six weeks of rehabilitation at Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Clinic, a female gray seal found malnourished with severe wounds on Block Island returns to the ocean at Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown, Rhode Island. A satellite tag was applied to the five-month-old seal to track her movement post-release. This tag will remain on the seal until she undergoes her annual molt and sheds her outer layer of skin and hair. The information from the tag will track this individual seal's success and build on crucial conservation research on rehabilitated seals. The tracking project is in partnership with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. The young seal was named “North” by a fourth-grade class on Block Island; inspired by her rescue location near the North Lighthouse on island.

On March 20, 2022, the Animal Rescue Program received a hotline call regarding the stranded seal and coordinated with Block Island First Responders who assisted in her rescue. Block Island Ferry staff helped transport the seal to the mainland for urgent medical attention at Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Clinic. Upon her arrival, she weighed only 40 pounds. Mystic Aquarium animal care staff administered antibiotics for infections, fluids for dehydration, and daily wound care during her rehabilitation. By the end of her stay in rehabilitation, the seal completely recovered from her wounds and had gained an impressive 55 pounds; weighing in at more than 90 pounds. A few days before the release date, Mystic Aquarium and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society staff applied a satellite tracker onto the gray seal's body. A flipper tag with a unique number was also applied as a more permanent animal identification.

This tag will provide vital information regarding the seal's whereabouts and contribute data towards various conservation and research projects. During the next few months, the tag will transmit the seal’s general location to satellites, mapping out her movements. This navigation pattern will not only tell us information about this individual seal, but also provide information on the local gray seal population as a whole.

The teacher of the fourth-grade class who named the gray seal North is the first responder who initially responded to the seal. The students decided to name the seal 'North' after the North Light lighthouse, which overlooks the beach where she was found stranded. The class watched the seal release live via FaceTime. Mystic Aquarium invited the public to the seal release and welcomed more than one hundred supporters to Blue Shutters Beach.

"When a seal is admitted into the Animal Rescue Program, we do everything we can to give each animal a second chance at life. Often, that opportunity for an animal is made possible due to the collaborations that occur along the way. In this particular case, collaborations within the Block Island Community were vital in getting this animal the care she needed, “said Sarah Callan, Animal Rescue Program Manager. “While we cannot track all seals, we are excited to see this animal’s movement post-release and have this opportunity to contribute important data on local seal populations. Despite this seals previous condition, we are optimistic about her future.”