THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050181
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
A hooded seal that stranded at the resort beach last week has been transferred from the Virginia Marine Science Museum to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for further rehabilitation.
After three days of antibiotics, vitamins, fluids and nourishment, the sickly seal was starting to regain strength.
``We were real happy with his progress,'' said Alice Scanlan, a spokesman for the Virginia Beach museum.
But the museum could not keep him any longer as space is at a premium: Several river otters are to be delivered soon for a new exhibit.
``He needed more rehabilitation and we just didn't have the space,'' Scanlan said.
He was transported Friday to the Baltimore facility, where rehabilitation efforts will continue. When the seal is healthy enough, it will be released in the Atlantic Ocean.
The seal had wandered far from its home in the Arctic Ocean. It apparently suffered the fate of many young seals that are thrust into the world by their mothers with little guidance. Many don't survive their first year because they haven't developed adequate hunting or navigating skills.
Unlike harbor seals, which periodically visit here, hooded seals rarely venture this far south. They typically are found around Greenland and Iceland.
The seal - thin, weak and shivering - came ashore last Tuesday night at 44th Street. Virginia Marine Science Museum's stranding team volunteers took him to the museum's holding warehouse.
Blood samples showed he was suffering from an infection. Veterinary examinations concluded he was in stable condition.
The male is about 1 year old and weighs about 65 pounds.
Hooded seals are twice the size of harbor seals. Male hooded seals grow to about 8 feet and weigh 700 to 900 pounds. ILLUSTRATION: File
The hooded seal, about 1-year-old, came ashore at 44th Street at
Virginia Beach a week ago today.
by CNB