When you turn on the news or read the newspaper, it seems that most of the stories deal with scandals, violence, or celebrities. It is nice to come across a story about talented people doing meaningful work in a humble way. Living in Maryland, I recently came across a story in the The Sun, Baltimore’s daily newspaper. It referred to the June 24 release of Guinness, a gray seal that had been found stranded an injured in Kittyhawk, N.C., in March.
It seems to me, given all the pressures we put on wildlife and wild habitats, that giving wild animals a second chance when we can is really one of the great things that we can do. Guinness – named so because he was stranded on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day – was transported to the National Aquarium in Baltimore were it was determined that he was underweight, dehydrated and his lower jaw was broken.
Surgery to repair the jaw was performed and after a period of rehabilitation and rest, he was released back into the Atlantic off the shores of Ocean City, Md. You can track Guinness’ travels by visiting the Aquarium’s Web site.
It turns out that Guinness wasn’t the only wild animal to benefit from the Aquarium’s expertise in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation this spring. The Aquarium also recently released five rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. The five turtles were part of a larger group of cold-stunned turtles that came to the Aquarium in December from New England.
The turtles were treated for blood infections, pneumonias, and wounds associated with the cold-stunning event, and responded well to treatment. The turtles underwent weekly medical exams with the Aquarium’s veterinary team. They were weighed, their blood values checked, and they received regular radiographs to monitor their health.
Kemp's ridley turtle being released. Copyright Pat Venturino.
After a six-month recovery process, the turtles were deemed to be healthy enough for release back into the wild at Point Lookout State Park in Scotland, Md. Two of the five turtles were tagged with radio transmitters – you can follow their progress at the Aquarium’s animal tracking page.
Talented people who care deeply about wildlife giving animals a second chance – the kind of story that can get your day off to a good start.
Tim Lewthwaite
