Seal pup rescued in June makes healthy return to the sea

At 3:44 p.m. on Oct. 3 Rocky dipped her flippers back into the shoreline by Petroglyph Beach. She waded out into the stone-laden shallows, turned back to the crowd as if to say goodbye to the Wrangell residents who saved her life four months ago, and then swam out to sea.

Rocky had been in the care of marine biologists at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward since June. On June 20, Wrangell resident Dan Trail found her wedged between two rocks on Petroglyph Beach. She was just a week old.

At the time, she was dehydrated, malnourished and trembling. By the time of her release, Rocky's vitals had vastly improved and she passed all three tests required by the SeaLife Center for release: She had not received medical treatment for two weeks, she could catch fish independently and she weighed over 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Rocky weighed in at 55 pounds on the day of her release.

"She's a very plump lady," Savannah Costner said. Costner, an animal care specialist at SeaLife, led the event last Thursday.

Rocky didn't just grow in weight while in rehab; she grew a new name. Costner said the Sealife Center's naming theme this year is "peppers." In following that theme, the center's staff renamed Rocky after a rather hot pepper.

"We have named her Reaper after the Carolina reaper pepper because of her very spicy attitude. She is one of our spiciest seals that we've had this year," Costner said.

While SeaLife officials were unable to locate a local seal population near Rocky's release point, Costner said harbor seals tend to be solitary creatures anyway, though they do enjoy each other's companionship as a survival mechanism. Though Rocky was released on her own, Maddie Welch, a marine mammal specialist at SeaLife, said she expects Rocky to be OK.

"We feel really good about her chances. She was down and out when we got her, and even then she was so spicy. This is the best-case scenario for her." Welch said.

After arriving in town on the afternoon southbound jet from Anchorage, the pup was immediately taken to Petroglyph Beach where a crowd of over 100 people awaited her. Officials laid down a rope on the sand, creating a V-shaped makeshift runway for the harbor seal to crawl from her animal carrier to the waters off the north end of Wrangell Island.

The receding tide teased the scent of salt-baked plough mud, while forgiving skies above provided a pertinent pause in the day's light drizzle. Amidst sea-pounded stones, sun-dried driftwood and a rainbow of Xtratuf boots, Rocky found her freedom in the form of chilly Southeast waters.

Costner spoke to the crowd and thanked everyone for joining in the celebration of the pup's release. She informed the crowd that this was the most people Rocky had ever seen, so it was important to remain quiet until the seal had reentered the sea. Costner and the rest of the SeaLife team brought with them some portable barriers to put down in case Rocky veered off path or headed toward the crowd.

"She will bite you," Costner said earnestly.

Wrangell residents watched as the seal slumped out of her carrier after a brief pause of hesitation. Onlookers recorded the moment with phones, GoPros and even with tripod-mounted cameras. Children elbowed each other out of the way to get as close to the roped-off area as possible, while others opted to watch the event from the observation platform above. One attendee even admitted to taking the afternoon off work to make sure she saw Rocky's release.

In conjunction with the event, Costner and Welch visited fifth-grade classrooms to talk with students about Rocky's rehabilitation process.

"We're so happy the community was able to get so involved in this," Costner said.