Alaska SeaLife Center releases 4 seals into Cook Inlet

2 weeks ago

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The Alaska SeaLife Center released 4 rehabilitated harbor seals into Cook Inlet adjacent Kenai connected Thursday. Staff opportunity nan seals are successful bully wellness and dream to proceed monitoring their lives successful nan wild.

The seal were released connected a blustery, grey time astatine nan rima of nan Kenai River. While rainfall hammered nan beach, group successful rainfall jackets of each colors flanked a makeshift runway connected nan mud.

Savannah Costner is an animal attraction master pinch nan Alaska SeaLife Center. She spent nan summertime nursing nan seals backmost to health, and said it’s a large accomplishment to get nan seals backmost successful nan water.

“When nan doors open, if everyone could beryllium very quiet,” she told nan crowd. “They person not seen this magnitude of group ever. They’re going to beryllium beautiful overwhelmed.”

Costner past introduced nan 4 seals. Traditionally, nan SeaLife Center gives themed names to batches of animals being released. Last year, it was potatoes. This year, it’s peppers. Released were Pepperoncini, Zorro, Cayenne and Picosita.

Pepperoncini was nan 4th harbor seal rescued by nan SeaLife Center this year. She was premature erstwhile rescued adjacent Kenai, arsenic evidenced by a fluffy achromatic coat. Costner said harbor seals are expected to suffer that achromatic overgarment while still successful utero. Pepperoncini besides arrived sick and required astir nan timepiece attraction that included typical enrichment.

Pepperoncini was 1 of 2 seals wearing what Costner called a “backpack.” That’s a outer tracker. When Pepperoncini and nan antenna surface, Costner said nan halfway will get a ping pinch her GPS coordinates.

“So this is ace exciting,” Costner said. “We’re really hoping to travel her advancement retired successful nan water and hopefully support getting pings for a agelong time.”

After a fewer much instructions astir keeping nan seals safe came nan infinitesimal everyone had been waiting for.

When nan crates were opened, Pepperoncini took off. Her antenna bobbed arsenic she hopped down nan beach.

The others were somewhat much timid. One takes its clip leaving nan crate, while different refused to time off entirely. After immoderate coaxing and gentle prodding, though, each made their measurement down nan beach. When each 4 seals had reached nan water, nan mean hush complete nan crowd lifted arsenic group celebrated.

Once successful nan water, immoderate of nan seals lingered adjacent nan shore, looking backmost astatine nan colorful crowd connected nan beach.

Heather O’Malley lives successful Kenai and says Thursday was her first clip watching nan SeaLife Center merchandise seals backmost into nan wild. She said her family spent clip reference nan seals’ biographies beforehand, truthful she feels for illustration they cognize them. During nan release, O’Malley said she was observant to get a bully spot.

“We decided to guidelines astatine nan extremity because I wanted to spot them erstwhile they sewage into nan water, you know?” O’Malley said. “And proceeding them flop their fat small bodies down nan soil until they made it truthful exciting.”

More accusation nan 4 seals released Thursday tin beryllium recovered connected the SeaLife Center’s website.