First Seal Release

Today is the day of the first seal release.  We have come a long way together over such a short period of time.  The veterinarian pulled out pictures of some of the first seals from when they initially arrived at the center and, what a difference!  Those adorable, fluffy white creatures cowering in bath tubs have grown up to be big, fat sausages living it up in the above-ground pools.  That time has been a learning and growing process for us all with a string of challenges and successes along the way.   

To start, there was the fear of gavage feeding, for the seals, gradually coming to understand that this is what fills their bellies with food, and for the interns trying to master this technique for the first time.  Before too long, we were bombarded by seals, who could not be fed quickly enough, in spite of all our attempts to organize and hustle.  The older pups soon learned to swallow and eagerly awaited feeding time, and eventually, got booted out of isolation to the outdoor nursery pools to make room for the newcomers.  Even still, there were not enough tubs for all, so they began to be paired up, with some enjoying the company of a buddy, while others seemed to resent sharing and, sometimes, lashed out at their roommate when not distracted and less stressed by swimming at bath time.  They were slowly introduced to fish as play toys in their baths and some did not seem terribly interested, while others mutilated the fish, and a few special individuals quickly taught themselves to swallow it whole.  The pools became increasingly chaotic as more seals graduated to the outdoors, even with the addition of a fourth pool about halfway through the season.   

Currently, there are seventeen seals in isolation, many of which are awaiting their turn to be moved outside, especially since they have already mastered hand-feeding fish.  Only seven more seals have arrived within the past few weeks, and things are slowing down, compared to the forty-something seals crammed into isolation less than two months ago, demanding much attention.  Every day, these pups move one step closer to freedom as they learn to feed in the water or feed themselves by diving after the fish tossed in the pools.  Just a couple of days ago, four pups were witnessed free-feeding and these suspicions were confirmed by their drastic weight gain over a matter of days.   

Now, after arriving at under twenty pounds, our first four seals, weighing in at around sixty pounds each, will be released today from the northeast of the island.  It is apparently a seal haven a short swim from here with lots of rock beds, less populated islands, and likely a wealth of food sources.  I wonder at how they will fair, how easily they will be accepted by established herds, how much of a shock to their systems the sea will be, especially as they hunt for their own food.  It is a day of mixed emotions with sadness at seeing our babies head out into the real world on their own and happiness that they made it to this point; that together, we successfully achieved the mission that we had set out to fulfill.

Six Second Chances

Having been here nearly a month, only three animals have made it to release.  The others have sustained traumas and injuries too severe or were too young and weak to survive.  So, for a time, it seemed as if this was a place where animals come to die, instead of to get a second chance at life.  Yet, sometimes, the best that we can do is provide them an opportunity to die with dignity and minimal suffering, instead of in pain and alone out in the world. 

In spite of this tough reality, there are still second chances that come along, as six birds were released today!  A groups of starlings had arrived a few weeks ago as youngsters, who needed to be gavage fed, and I was able to watch them grow and develop, as they learned to fly, perch, and feed themselves.  After a time, they were deemed to be stable and self-sufficient enough to be moved to an enclosure outside in the woods.  That transition was quite a challenge, since they wanted nothing to do with being caught or being confined in small cardboard boxes for transport, from which a few quickly learned to escape.  I imagine that performing this same task to take them in the truck to a release site was even more difficult, since they had a larger area for evasion and had developed a greater aversion to humans. 

At the release site, I had just barely finished untaping the box when three starlings suddenly, anxiously burst out and flew off in all different directions into the evergreen woods.  One other starling was released and one stayed behind, as he is the sickly runt, experiencing slow feather development.  He can only fly well enough to hop from branch to branch and could just look on as the others flew high above chasing each other about the enclosure.  One day when I checked on them, he was perched on a low branch, looking tentatively, longingly up at his companions, and sporadically flapping his wings, as if preparing himself, as if this was the day that he would take to the sky.  I could feel the anticipation building and I encouraged him in my mind until finally, he began to let go of his perch in mid-flap, only to tip backwards onto the ground.  It was an awful disappointment.  I certainly hope that his condition improves, so that he can go off into the world to be a “real” bird.

A fledgling robin look quite different from an adult.  It is brown and white with brown spots along its breast, although the facial features are quite distinctive.  This fledgling spent even less time at the center, as he was nearly at the age to go off on his own.  He was released at a cemetery nearby the starlings’ release site, and similarly, flew from the box without hesitation into a nearby tree, where he remained perched, likely in shock over his new, unfamiliar surroundings.

The first release of the day was of a young raven that had arrived with a broken toenail, which eventually fell off.  He was quite tame, putting up little to no struggle on the mornings that he was to be weighed or when he had to be tube fed or medicated.  He even preferred to be hand fed, which would not do out in the wild.  Due to the loss of his toenail, he needed to relearn how to perch and reaccustom himself with flying and landing, which was a crash and burn attempt when we first moved him to the large raptor flight cage.  He soon figured this out and was quite ready to go when he was removed from the cat carrier and tossed into the air.  Like the robin, he seemed to be shocked at the change in scenery, and so remained perched high up in a conifer tree as we proceeded to release the starlings and make our way back to the trucks.