Meet Sealbert, Seally, and Giseale!

On June 6, 2017, the National Marine Life Center welcomed two new harbor seal pups, bringing us to ten seals!  Continuing our Sealebrity theme, our two new pups are named Sealbert Einstein and Seally Ride.  On June 20, 2017, NMLC welcomed our eleventh harbor seal pup, GIseale Bundchen.  All three pups were determined to be abandoned by their mothers and brought to NMLC to begin their rehabilitation for eventual release.

Sealbert, named after German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, stranded in Falmouth, Maine and was brought to us by Marine Mammals of Maine.  He was the largest seal pup brought to us this year, weighing in at 9.6kg! Among some of his conditions included pneumonia and slightly low sodium levels in his blood.  He is commonly called “Fat Albert” among volunteers and interns due to his large size in comparison with the other pups.  He is most active during his swim times, but otherwise is found laying on his side or rolling around the room.

Seally, named after American astronaut and physicist Sally Ride, was found in Brunswick, Maine, and was transported to us by Marine Mammals of Maine.  She is currently being treated for low venous oxygen levels and low sodium levels in her blood.  Seally is the most talkative out of the three pups.  She is most vocal when it comes to feeding time, except when we go to restrain her for feeding, she tries to escape our clutches.

Giseale, who is named after supermodel Gisele Bundchen, was our twelfth pup to reach full capacity.  She was found in Chebeague Island, Maine on June 9, 2017.  After being transported to NMLC by Marine Mammals of Maine, she is being treated for a number of ailments, including dehydration and oral/tongue ulcers.  Giseale may be in a room with two seals who love the water, but she generally does not enjoy her swim times and always tries to get out of her pool to be on dry land.

All three pups are being given medications to combat all of their conditions and are being tube fed fish gruel, a blended fish formula fed through a tube before full transition to whole fish.  As they continue to grow and recover, they will be transitioned over to fish, and allowed more access to water.

Posted by Meagan B.

Meagan is a Summer 2017 Animal Care Intern at the National Marine Life Center.  She will begin graduate school at University College London this fall studying Biodiversity, Evolution, and Conservation.