Helping hand for seals, turtles |
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Mystic's stranding program relies on volunteers By Jim Murtagh CHARLESTOWN , R. I. — On a cold April day, heavy rain pours down from somber gray clouds. The volunteer team from Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration assembles here at Blue Shutters Beach, clad from head to toe in blue rain gear. They slide a large plastic pet carrier from the truck and carry it out onto the beach, placing it down gently on the sand 15 feet from the storm swollen surf. Lying quietly inside the carrier is a 1-year-old female harp seal. She doesn't know it, but it's her big day. She's going home. The team from Mystic's Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Program will repeat this cycle of rescue, rehabilitation and release for injured and sick seals many times this year. During the peak of the seal season, the stranding program can get up to a dozen calls per day, and more than 100 calls have already come into the stranding phone line this year. Each call may require that a team be dispatched to investigate, and possibly retrieve, a stranded animal. Since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, seal populations have increased and so has the frequency of seal sightings and strandings within Connecticut . Heather Medic, Mystic's stranding coordinator, notes that seals, particularly ice seals, seem to favor the waters of Long Island Sound. Ice seals, such as the harp and harbor seal, journey from the North Atlantic waters to Southern New England during the winter and then return north-ward when the local snow and ice retreat. Seals get stranded for different reasons. Sometimes a young pup is separated from its mother and is unable to feed because it has not learned to catch fish on its own. Parasite infections and injuries from boating accidents or entanglement in fishing nets are other known causes for stranding. As the number of strandings increase, so does the need for volunteers. If fact, Medic says she couldn't do her job without them. "I can send out an e-mail for people and within an hour, I'll have three replies saying they can come in and help.” It is this type of dedication that has allowed Mystic's program to grow from eight volunteers to more than 40 in just four years. Volunteers in the program currently outnumber staff members by more than 20 to 1. Volunteers are involved in every facet of the operation including feedings, assisting with medical exams, going into the field for animal pickups and, of course, the release. "There is no way I could feed all those animals, run the phones and do all my paperwork without the volunteers" Medic says. "They could probably run this place without me." Essex resident Stewart Schenck devotes about nine hours each week to the stranding program as a volunteer. During his eight years at the aquarium, Schenck has accumulated 2,600 hours of service. As a youth, Schenck envisioned studying biology and becoming a teacher, but after being drafted and serving in the Navy, he chose a career as a commercial airline pilot. Retired, Schenck finally has the time to pursue one of his childhood passions. Stranding season generally begins in mid November when the first harbor seal pups begin to show up on Connecticut beaches. Harp seals arrive in January, followed by gray seals in March. Early spring brings harbor porpoises, while dolphins appear throughout spring and early summer. Most species of whales show up in late spring through fall. Sea turtles close the stranding season in October and November. The volunteers get just a couple weeks rest. No matter how busy it gets, Schenck points out, "We have to think of the animals first." Animals brought in for rehabilitation stay at the aquarium an average of two months. No animal can be released until the veterinary staff says it is healthy and the animal has been off medication for at least two weeks. Most release candidates get a short stay in the large prerelease tank at the aquarium where they swim around to the delight of visitors. Back at Charlestown 's Blue Shutters Beach, the rain has stopped but few notice because all eyes are on the open door of the pet carrier. The harp seal emerges and propels herself awkwardly across wet sand in a series of short hops. Before reaching the water's edge, she pauses briefly to look around, then plunges into the surf, disappearing under the water. Seconds later, the seal surfaces, takes a breath and vanishes below the waves. If you observe live, dead or entangled marine mammals or sea turtles in Rhode Island or Connecticut, do not approach or touch them but instead call the Mystic Aquarium stranding line at (860) 572-5955 ext. 107. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in the stranding program or would like to make a donation, please go to http:\\www mysticaquarium.org and select the link for Get Your Feet Wet and Give. |
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