(From Mystic Aquarium)
Mystic Aquarium’s
animal rescue team will release two 5-month-old harbor seal pups, Hershey and
Brunswick, into the waters of Charlestown Breachway State Beach on Charlestown
Beach Road in Charlestown, R.I., on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m.*
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| Hershey |
Both Hershey, a
female, and Brunswick, a male, were rescued in Maine and spent a brief period
of time undergoing rehabilitation at the University of New England’s Marine
Animal Rehabilitation Center in Biddeford, Maine, before being transferred to
Mystic Aquarium’s Seal Rescue Clinic.
Hershey was rescued on
May 28 and came to Mystic Aquarium on June 4. A thin, dehydrated, abandoned
pup, she was treated with supportive fluid therapy and antibiotics. Brunswick
was rescued on July 2 and came to Mystic Aquarium on July 16.
 |
| Brunswick |
He arrived as a
weanling and was thin, dehydrated, hypoglycemic and mildly anemic. He also had
an open wound on his neck and an infection in his eye, both of which have
healed well.
During his rehabilitation, he received supportive fluid and
dextrose therapy, antibiotics, eye ointments, and daily topical wound
treatment.
Susan Sullivan of
Ledyard, Conn., will be a special member of Mystic Aquarium’s animal rescue
team on Tuesday.
Sullivan was the highest bidder at the Seals on the Rocks
fundraiser in June, allowing her the unique opportunity to accompany the animal
rescue team during release preparation in the Seal Rescue Clinic and on the
drive to the beach. She will open Hershey’s carrier to release her back into
the ocean.
Mystic Aquarium’s 3-
to 5-year-old Sea School students will attend the
release after learning about the rescue and release process from the animal
rescue team. They made farewell signs for the occasion and will be joined by
family and friends.
Sea School is the nation’s only aquarium-based licensed preschool
program.