Seal Rogers Williams Swims Free!

Seal Rogers Williams had been with us for nearly 7 months, so we are so excited that he is finally back in the ocean! He stranded at Rye Harbor State Park in Rye, NH and was brought to us by the Seacoast Science Center rescue team at the end of September, 2016. Rogers originally came to us as a pup with some wounds on his belly and flippers, a severe upper respiratory infection, and a heavy parasite infestation. After a few months of care, these issues were resolved and he was ready to go home. Unfortunately, however, his stay with us was extended when our staff found a concerning lesion on him during an exam in November.

The lesion turned out to be seal pox, a very contagious but non-life-threatening disease that is found naturally among seals in the wild. Unfortunately, it takes a while to recover from the pox. Rogers spent some time recovering from the virus, receiving plenty of yummy fish and splashing around his pool with his favorite blue ball.  When he arrived here at NMLC, Rogers weighed 16.5kg (about 36lbs). We wanted to make sure he was a nice healthy weight before heading home, and on the day he was released he weighed 42.8kg (about 94lbs)! By April his pox were healed and he was ready to go home!

Rogers was released at Scussett Beach on April 18. His crate door was opened by our veterinarian, Dr. Sea Rogers Williams, from whom Seal Rogers got his name. Rogers-the-seal hesitated for just a second then headed to the ocean, only looking back once at his crowd of fans before splashing into the waves! Many of our volunteers and staff were at the release to say goodbye and send him on his way. We will all miss seeing him sitting in his pool, but are so happy that he is finally home.

Posted by Ali C.
Ali is a co-op student from Northeastern University interning at the National Marine Life Center. She is a second-year marine biology major.