OGUNQUIT, Maine — A lethargic seal pup rescued from the beach here in June, with a few wounds and respiratory issues, is expected to return to the wild soon after nearly three months in rehabilitation.
The pup was taken to Brunswick-based Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME), where it took the last available rehabilitation spot available for the 2020 season, and stole the hearts of MMoME staff and volunteers.
"There is always one that gets you every year," said MMoME founder and executive director Lynda Doughty.
When the seal pup — which has come to be known as "#108" — came to the rehabilitation center, Doughty said he weighed about 8.5 kilograms. Now, he weighs 20 kilograms, and he is nearly ready to return into the wild.
Doughty, who has a background in marine mammal medicine, founded MMoME in 2011. With a handful of employees and more than 60 trained volunteers, MMoME responds to marine mammals stranded along 225 miles of Maine coast, including islands, from Kittery to Rockland. The organization can respond to help seals, whales, porpoises and sea turtles.
"We are the only organization allowed to rehabilitate seals in the state, but although we are permitted to, we can only rehabilitate so many," Doughty said. "It’s not a space issue, it’s how many animals [MMoME] is permitted to rehabilitate. We fill up fast and we can’t always help the ones who need it."
When the call came to help 108, there was an opening because another animal handle made it, so 108 filled that last spot available for care, Doughty said.
Volunteers for MMoME serve as dispatchers for the organization on a hot line, 1-800-532-9551, that anyone in the state of Maine can call to report a stranding or abnormal behavior from marine mammals on the coast. In addition to providing rehabilitation services, MMoME also does community outreach, education, wild population studies and research on marine mammals.
"Research is important for understanding how we decide our responses day to day, and for understanding marine mammals in general," Doughty said.
Doughty encourages all beachgoers to call the hot line if they see a marine mammal that appears to be out of place. She also encouraged people to take pictures of the mammals in need from a safe distance to be able to show volunteers.
Doughty said she and other MMoME volunteers were able to discern from previous calls and photos submitted to the organization that 108 had been appearing around Ogunquit for a short period of time before he eventually showed up wounded near the Marginal Way on June 18.
Doughty said 108 was young enough that he should have still been with his mother. She believes that he had somehow been separated from her, which played a role in MMoME’s decision that he needed some help. Because he hadn’t completed the weaning process, he had been more susceptible to disease because his immune system was weakened.
He was in bad shape, requiring round-the-clock treatment for the first couple of days in the rehabilitation center, Doughty said. It was a slow process, but he finally improved.
Rehab staff replicated the weaning process for 108 as much as possible, Doughty said. When he was first admitted, he spent his first couple of days with an IV. Then he moved on to formula and tube feeding, before moving on to fish gruel and, eventually, whole fish.
Doughty said they have been able to get 108 to practice hunting and eating live fish to prepare for his return to the wild, as well.
Now, 108 eats 2.5 kilograms of fish a day.
Doughty said she is unsure of how long it might take to get 108’s permits for release approved, but when they are, MMoME will plan his release date and stream the occasion live on MMoME’s Facebook page: "Marine Mammals of Maine."
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September 11, 2020 at 12:06AM
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Seal rescued from Ogunquit beach nearly ready to be set free - Foster's Daily Democrat
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