Last weekend was an exciting one for onlookers as three rescued San Juan County harbor seals were able to make their way back to their Salty Salish Sea home! On Friday, September 29th, three harbor seals were released after being in marine mammal rehabilitation for months. All three of these harbor seals were stranded as pups, and it was an incredible experience to see them each released back into the wild, having been fully rehabilitated and deemed healthy and ready to continue frolicking in the Salish Sea.
This is the second harbor seal release of the season for Wolf Hollow, a non-profit rehabilitation center on San Juan Island that serves the islands as well as Skagit County. Wolf Hollow has helped rescue and rehabilitate over 16,000 animals since it was founded just 35 years ago in 1982. On Friday, everyone was excited to add three new Harbor Seals to the list of successful rehabilitations.
Wolf Hollow – San Juan Island’s Only Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Wolf Hollow has become well known for rescuing and working to aid in the recovery of orphaned, stranded, or injured animals that needed assistance. While marine mammals were the focus of the release on this day, Wolf Hollow’s work is not just limited to marine animals, and ranges from deer, raccoons, and herons, to snakes, owls and eagles- having cared for more than 200 different species of animals and wildlife.
On this specific day, Wolf Hollow was excited to be releasing Angus, Sussex, and Nagori after months of rehabilitating them. Each of these harbor seals were rescued as pups by the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and then put in the care of Wolf Hollow for treatment. All three of these pups were taken into care in July each for different reasons, all resulting in their inability to continue to survive in the wild.
Seal Pup Angus
Angus was estimated to be approximately 6 days old when he was initially spotted stranded on the shore of Andrews Bay on July 13th. San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) was contacted, and initially decided it best to wait and ensure that Angus’s mom wasn’t going to return, as is always the preferable route to take in order to ensure humans not intervening until necessary. By the next day reports were coming in that Angus had been seen getting dragged by an eagle, and SJCMMSN immediately responded and brought the pup to Wolf Hollow to begin rehabilitation. Unfortunately, Angus has sustained damage to his right eye that had proven to be too severe to salvage his eye. That being said, Angus continued to make great progress in Wolf Hollow’s rehabilitation program and by the time of release Angus had put on substantial weight, making rehabilitators confident with Angus’s ability to take care of himself.
Seal Pup Sussex
Sussex was the second pup rescued, having been found alone for two days at Rosario Resort on July 17th. Sussex was suffering from an umbilical cord infection as well as severe dehydration. From the get go reports say that Sussex was active and enjoyed splashing and swimming in the small pools at Wolf Hollow. By the beginning of August Sussex was able to be switched over to an exclusive diet of fish in contrast to a mix of formulas he had originally been consuming. Sussex continued to progress and was ready to be released with a clean bill of health!
Seal Pup Nagori
The final pup of this fleet was Nagori, the entertainment of the group. Wolf Hollow staff said that Nagori gave them a run for their money during her rehabilitation. When Nagori was originally rescued she weighed 8.65 kgs and was estimated to be about 7 to 10 days old. Upon each seals release they are weighed one final time to ensure they have the most detailed history of these seals as possible. On the day of her released Nagori was said to be upwards of 28 kg.
One Last Check-Up Before Release
Each of the rescued seals upon release into the wild has passed a series of examinations to ensure that they are healthy and harness the abilities to ensure a successful life. They are all weighed and a final blood sample is collected, and if everything looks healthy and within normal ranges these seals are collected from their rehabilitation pools and prepared to be released. The final step is tagging their hind flippers and gluing a hat tag to their head that will stay on for just a few weeks, but will allow them to be easily be identified if and when they are seen in the area.
Returning Home - Release to the Salish Sea
On this date, all three were brought over to Turn Point Beach to be released. Wolf Hollow Staff carried their crates down to the beach, and once ready simultaneously open the cage door and three energetic harbor seals flopped into the water! After a few moments Nagori slowed down and decided- true to her established character- to wait for a bit and not follow the other two. Angus and Sussex swiftly swam and explored their new home, but Nagori stayed at the waters edge for a few moments taking it all in. Eventually she adventured towards some rocks many people were watching the release from. Much to the delight of onlookers she swam by and eventually decided to venture out with her two buddies, Angus and Sussex, as a supportive crowd cheered them all on!
It was an absolutely awesome release, and those who had attended previous releases remarked at how swiftly it all went, even Mother Nature herself held out on rain until the release was complete. It was an uplifting and incredible experience seeing a positive stranding story played out in its entirety and ending with such a successful release!
Cheers to Angus, Sussex, Nagori!
About Wolf Hollow – How to Volunteer and Contribute
Wolf Hollow is a registered 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Wolf Hollow relies on support from individuals, businesses and foundations to carry out their work. Their mission is to promote the well-being of wildlife and their habitats through rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife, public education and non-invasive research.
Wolf Hollow is supported by volunteers and donations! Learn how you can help here.
–Naturalist Alexandria
