Today, there was a Release Party! We released 3 Harbor Seal Pups and 1 Northern Elephant Seal.

Here is some cuteness from the release.

The harbor seals

                                                                               The Elephant Seal

 

  

A couple months back, I worked at a sea turtle hospital in Florida and we had a Kemp's Ridley Turtle, "Johnnie," come in. She was considered "famous" because she somehow floated up to the Netherlands and then was sent to Portugal before coming to our facility and she was fitted with a satellite transmitter.


When recently looking up her tracking device, I found this on her website...

"As Johnnie approached Grand Isle, she encountered an oil spill near the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. The oil spill story and photos are online. http://blog.skytruth.org/2011/03/gulf-spill-not-so-fast-problem-at-loop.html http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/rkistner/gulf_oil_source_found_but_slic.html http://media.nola.com/2010_gulf_oil_spill/photo/map-oil-032311jpg-ac481095c236d2b1.jpg" http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=113650

It is crazy to think that with all the time and work it takes to rehabilitate an animal, somethings are destined to happen

This is what I got to rescue today...

                           

A Salmon Shark

So I am currently interning at marine mammal rehabilitation facility, where I am working with this Steller Sea Lion. Though he looks super cute and nice, this 100 lbs critter has sharp teeth with bacteria.

One morning, this man got out of his pen and while herding him back into it, I some how got stuck on the wrong side of the animal without a board. In those next 5 seconds, I found myself getting chased by this beast of an animal. Sea lions and other otariidaes have the ability to walk on all fours, so this animal can move as fast as a small sized dog basically. So yes, I was scared.

As some of you know, I got bit by a seal recently and had to go on antibiotics to not get the infamous "SEAL FINGER." But sadly, it was some not scary endangered Steller Sea Lion that had already chased me. This is the one that got me.

A harbor seal pup who is under 30 lbs but I might get a scar out of the deal.