BY: Adam Scopin ©2014 including photos
On April 25, 2014 a young grey seal was found injured and sickly near Ocean Road, in Bridgehampton, NY. The male seal was approximately two months old at the time, as evident by the presence of small amounts of Lanugo fur still attached to him. Lanugo fur is the iconic white fur that is also prevalent on baby Harp Seals.
The Riverhead Foundation was contacted and they went to recover the baby seal and bring it back to their facility for medical attention and care. He was suffering from superficial cuts, dehydration, parasites and he was underweight. These are injuries that are typically found on injured seals around Long Island. Other injuries that are often seen are from marine entanglements and fishing line filaments as well as other pollutants that are discarded in the waterways.
For the last four years, the Port Jefferson Royal Educational Foundation, a not for profit 501c, corporation that sponsors enhanced programs for all of the students of the Port Jefferson School District, has been sponsoring the release of rehabilitated seals, in conjunction with The Riverhead Foundation. The program includes classroom lessons and experiments taught to the students at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School, by Marine Biologists and educators from the Riverhead Foundation, culminating with a beach cleanup at Cedar Beach, in Mount Sinai along with the release of the rehabilitated seal to the waters of Long Island. The seals are either passively tagged on their flipper or if the Lanugo fur is still present they are chipped with a satellite tracker. The tracker allows their travels to be studied for up to a year, until the battery dies and the unit falls off with the remaining baby fur when it molts.
The purpose of the classroom lessons, experiments, beach cleanup and the seal release is to have the children learn that every aspect of this process is interconnected. Even though the water looks clear, doesn’t mean that pollution isn’t present in the environment. The hope is that not only will the children become future stewards of their environment, but also that they will even share the information with their family and friends to start making a positive impact now.
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On Friday June 20, 2014, after the beach was cleaned up for the start of the summer season, the guest of honor was introduced to his awaiting fans and supporters. The lucky seal this year was appropriately named, PJ Liberty. All of the people present were very excited to see him make his way from the transportation crate down the sand and into the water, where he swam, submerged and would pop his head up to say a final thank you and farewell to all of his new friends.
