The Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward is sheltering a seal pup found stranded near the town of Unalaska.
The male ringed seal was described as “balding and lethargic” when he was found earlier this month on the shores of Dutch Harbor. He is being treated for severe malnutrition and dehydration and suffers from lung worm, parasites and liver issues, according to March 19 Alaska SeaLife Center news release.
He also has a high white cell count and irregular molt, according to the release.
The National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) and the SeaLife Center gave rescuers the go-ahead to bring the seal to the center. He was transported to the center on March 11. The seal is the first stranded seal welcomed to the SeaLife Center in 2018.
The seal is under 24-hour care at the center. Ribbon, bearded, spotted and ringed seals are non-releasable under National Marine Fisheries Service guidelines.
The rescue comes a little more than a week after the SeaLife Center transported Tyonek, a six-month-old beluga whale calf rescued from the Cook Inlet in 2017, to a permanent home at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas.
A male ringed seal is photographed at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. The seal pup was transported to the center on March 11 after being found on the rusty pipe on the shore of Dutch Harbor near the city of Unalaska. (Photo courtesy of Alaska SeaLife Center)
