A group of B.C. seals are headed home for the holidays after being nursed back to health by a rescue society.
The six seals were rescued by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) after they were discovered underweight, lethargic and emaciated. Some had problems due to being separated from family members, while others coped with the fallout of encounters with humans.
All of the seals have been in care this year and were rescued from all over B.C.’s coast, including Port Moody, Victoria, West Vancouver, Nanoose Bay and Keats Island.
"It feels like a celebration," said marine mammal rescue volunteer Krista Tulloch. "Animals are back where they belong."
On Tuesday afternoon, the group of six were released from Porteau Cove Provincial Park with a crowd of people cheering them on.
Martin Haulena, the executive director at VAMMR, says the location provides a normal habitat for harbour seals.
"Harbour seals live here," Haulena said. "It's sheltered and there are lots of places to haul out and it's safe from people and dogs."
The seals all seemed to approve of the quiet semi-secluded location and all entered the ocean. Only one hesitated for a brief amount of time.
Among the group of pinnipeds is Keefer Rocks, a male seal who is known to be a fan favourite, and was released with a satellite tag so he can be monitored.
Wizard and Loose Cannon were rescued in August after being separated from their mother and both returned to the ocean. Keefer Rocks also copes with maternal separation.
A female seal named Kootenay was found Aug. 21 underweight and lethargic on Keats Island, while Sweet Tooth was found near Victoria Sept. 14.
"Animals come in from all over the place," said Haulena. "They're reported to us and then brought to us because of, usually, human activity."
According to tracking studies carried out in the past, seals tend to disperse far and wide no matter where they are released.
"They're going to cover all sorts of ground, they're going to look for an ideal spot for themselves. It's going to take some time to settle," said Haulena.
Good chance of survival after being released
Harbour seals tend to be fairly solitary and releasing them gives them a second chance at life, said the head of VAMMR.
"We're given animals who have been affected by people a second chance to be out there in the wild and contributing to our ecosystem," said Haulena.
Using satellite transmitters and tags, the group has been able to study how well the seals do after they are released.
"Compared to animals that have never gone through a rehabilitation program or rescue program, our seals do almost as well, or just as well," Haulena said.
The seals brought from as far away as Victoria could return there or find a new home, he said.
Keefer's satellite tag, which is glued to his hair, will allow the veterinarians and the public to track him as he ventures out to find his new home.
"We can follow along where Keefer goes, where he dives to or how much he dives and kind of get an idea of survival rate," said Haulena.
At a certain point, the tracker will fall off. The hope is to gather enough data before that happens.
Haulena said that the release of the seals wouldn't have been possible without a large group of people working behind the scenes to get the animals healthy.
"All these people that have done so much and volunteers that are working so hard," Haulena said.
Volunteers are heavily involved in caring for the animals and also take care of daily cleaning, feeding food preparation and tube feeding.
All that human-seal interaction inevitably left a mark on volunteers. For Tulloch, her favourite was a seal named Out Of The Blue.
"She had a very quirky, quirky, quirky eyes and face..." she said. "I was happy to see her go."
The release of the seals are the latest among hundreds of marine mammals given a second chance at life due to work done by VAMMR. According to the society, the team responds to more than 300 marine animal emergencies each year.
Sweet Tooth, Keefer Rocks and Out of the Blue are all up for 'adoption,' which means people can donate to the programs and services available for the marine mammals.
"It means you're giving a donation to support the work of the society," Tulloch says.
