Our Seal-ebrity Line Up!

Things have been action packed here at NMLC and we have five new Seal-ebrities to add to our hall of fame!

“Sealvester Stallone,” a gray weanling seal, was brought to us March 18 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Stallone was found on Gooseberry Island and was critically dehydrated, malnourished, and had lesions to his hind flippers. After fluid therapy and vitamin enriched feeds three times a day, Sealvester is steadily getting better. He began to eat on his own and is eating at least three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of herring a day!

“Vin Dieseal” was found on Scussett Beach by IFAW on March 20, two days after Sealvester! Vin is a weanling grey seal and was very dehydrated and underweight. He also had swollen abscesses on his back and head. Upon his arrival here at NMLC, he was placed on fluid therapy, antibiotics, and dewormers to rid him of internal parasites. Healing fast, Vin Dieseal has gained the ability to eat on his own and competes well with his tank-mate Stallone!

“Russeall Crowe,” another weanling grey seal, was also rescued by IFAW and admitted to NMLC on March 27 from Brewster. Russeall was also dehydrated and underweight, and suffered from respiratory congestion. We found that the cough was a result of a bad case of lungworm and he was immediately placed on antibiotics and anti-parasitic medications. Along with his medication he received the standard treatment of fluid therapy and enriching feeds. Russeall learned how to eat on his own very quickly and now happily swims in the big pool with Vin and Sealvester!

“Sealine Dion,” a weanling harp seal, was brought to us by IFAW on March 23 from West Dennis. Critically dehydrated, she was immediately placed of fluid therapy. Typical of harp seals, she had eaten sand and rocks which led to impacted bowels. Not only that, Sealine had lungworm and internal parasites to boot. After fluid therapy and treatments to rid her of her parasites, she quickly rebounded. She was happily released at Scusset Beach on April 23, an exact month after her admittance to NMLC. Click here to see her release on our Youtube site or here for her album on Facebook!

“Shaquille O’seal,” a weanling gray seal, was brought to NMLC on April 24 by the New England Aquarium. Shaquille is dehydrated and underweight, but he is also a human interaction case. While laying on the beach attempting to recover, he was harassed repeatedly by people and dogs on the beach. Due to his desperate need for rehabilitation space, we got special permission to release Sealine a week earlier than we planned. Shaq has a mild case of alopecia, otherwise known as hair loss, and an abscess on his belly. We suspect he has a lungworm infection because he’s been coughing and has difficulty breathing. He has been given fluid therapy, antibiotics, and has started treatments for seal lice and lungworm. Weighing in at only 19.7 kilograms (43 pounds), he is not very comparable to Shaquille O’Neil; however, he is strong and has a fighting spirit and we hope he will recover quickly!

If you would like to support the rehabilitation of our seal patients, please consider a symbolic adoption (which makes a great gift!), purchase a gift of supplies from our Amazon Smile Wishlist, or make a monetary donations to purchase food and medical equipment. Thank you for supporting the recovery of our 2016 seal patients!

Posted by Kay S.
Kay is a 2016 spring/summer Intern at the National Marine Life Center. She recently graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Wildlife Management and in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.