On Thursday our 7th graders attended a mini-field trip to the Kenai Public Beach to watch and participate in a seal release. After spending some time volunteering for the wildlife rehabilitation program at the Sea Life Center in Seward this summer, they contacted me about getting our students involved in a seal release in our area. The day before the release, two presenters from the Sea Life Center came up to teach my science classes about the differences between seals and sea lions, they dissected sea lion scat, and learned about the two harbor seals that were going to be released, Sangria and Brie.
Sangria is a harbor seal that was found orphaned in Anchorage at about a week old. Brie, also a harbor seal, was found at the Kenai Boat Docks, orphaned at only a day old. The Sea Life Center has been spending the summer getting them good and fat and teaching them how to swim and catch their own food.
On Thursday, when we got to the beach we lined the students up for the release and waited for Sangria and Brie to be brought out in their cages. Two of our students got to open the cage doors. Sangria booked it to the ocean, instinct kicking in. Once in the water she popped her head up to look back at us with a look of "your not coming after me?" She did this a couple time and then dove down for good. Brie was a bit more apprehensive. We had to tip her out of the cage. Once she hit the sand, she was off towards the ocean. She also looked around unsure of what was going on, but eventually dove down. Both animals have a tag with a number for identification purposes. Brie also has a satellite tracker, so our students will be able to see where she goes.
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