Crowd gathers for rainy release of harbor seals

At the mouth of the Kenai River, around noon on Thursday, more than 100 people gathered on the sand to watch a group of four harbor seals be released from the Alaska SeaLife Center’s Wildlife Response Program.

The four seals, Peperoncini, Zorro, Cayenne and Picosita, were all admitted this summer, Animal Care Specialist Savannah Costner said before loosing the seals into the water.

Peperoncini was rescued from Kenai, where she was found on May 9 at a fish processing facility without her parent. Costner said that she was found with a white lanugo coat. That coat is supposed to be shed in utero, so it means that Peperoncini was born premature.

When checked out by center staff, she was also found to have the highest bilirubin value — a count that describes the amount of a pigment found in the blood that can indicate severe health issues — that “we have ever seen.”

“The fact that she’s made it to this day warms my heart,” Costner said. “I love her dearly.”

Peperoncini was released Thursday with a backpack containing a GPS device that will allow the center to “follow her progress” in the ocean.

The next seal to be released was Zorro, found on May 20 by kayakers near Bradley Lake south of Homer.

Like Peperoncini, Zorro was found with a white lanugo coat. She arrived at the center as their smallest in care — she was the largest to be released on Thursday. Costner described her as “feisty” and “spicy.”

Cayenne, found in the Copper River Delta near Cordova on May 27, had a “relatively normal rehabilitation period,” Costner said.

“Does not mean we’re any less excited that she’s made it to this day!”

Picosita, the final pup to be released on Thursday, was rescued on Kenai Beach on June 4. She was believed to be less than a week old, but was missing her mother. She, too, had a GPS tracker.

Peperoncini and Zorro were quick to make their way down the beach and into the river, while Cayenne and Picosita required a little coaxing from the center staff. The gathered crowd excitedly snapped photos and videos of the seals as they moved down the beach.

The seals peered back at the crowd gathered on the bank of the river, even coming back up onto the sandbar. Eventually, they moved out towards Cook Inlet, and the four gray heads poking out of the water were joined by more before the crowd dispersed.

A full recording of the release and more information can be found at “Alaska SeaLife Center” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.