The National Aquarium in Baltimore's Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) released a harbor seal in Ocean City, Maryland after a two-month rehabilitation period at the Aquarium. The female seal, nicknamed Secca, was initially found stranded on the beach at 145th street in Ocean City on January 2, 2008.
MARP volunteers named the seal Secca, which means "dry" in Italian, because of her preference for lounging dry on the deck instead of getting wet in the rehabilitation pool.
Rehabilitated and Released
Secca was admitted to the rehabilitation program due to emaciation, dehydration and an injury to a front flipper. She gained nearly 30 pounds since being admitted through a solid diet of herring and capelin, and interacted with enrichments when offered.
This is not the last the Aquarium will see of Secca - she was fitted with a satellite tag provided by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which will transmit information about her latest location.
Secca is the 80th animal to be released by the Aquarium.
