Originally published February 12, 2021
JUNE 7, 2021 UPDATE
Held on June 7th, this webinar provides an update on Harbor Seal #087 from Robert A. DiGiovanni, Jr., Founder and Chief Scientist at
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, who tagged the seal, as well as insight on his 30+ years of research. SSC’s Marine Mammal Rescue’s Ashley Stokes and Brian Yurasits join Rob to facilitate the conversation.
MARCH 29, 2021 UPDATE
This video follows the rescue, rehab, release and tracking of Harbor Seal #087, who was rescued by Seacoast Science Center Marine Mammal Rescue (MMR), went through rehab in Maine, and was outfitted with a satellite tag thanks to our colleagues from New York. Narrated by MMR’s Brian Yurasits, collaborators from Marine Mammals of Maine and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society join MMR’s Ashley Stokes to walk you through the entire process. To learn more about the movements and what information we are learning from #087, follow SSC Marine Mammal Rescue on Facebook or check back here for updates.
Marine Mammal Rescue organizations rely on contributions to support their work. Please support SSC Marine Mammal Rescue by donating here.
FEBRUARY 24, 2021 UPDATE
Wow, #087 has been busy since being released on February 7th! The map below, with #087 being represented by the blue dots, is current as of February 20th. In just 2 weeks and at only 9-10 months old, this seal has travelled south 350+ miles! Internally, we had always assumed that the young of the year animals stay in the general area of where we respond to them, but boy has this seal proven that to not always be the case. It’s for reasons like this, that research by means of satellite tagging can help uncover things and answer questions. We are excited to see where #087 might venture to next!
MARCH 18, 2021 UPDATE
Here’s the latest update on Harbor Seal #087 and his epic journey in the Atlantic! Since we tagged #087 (blue dots), he’s moved south from Maine, past New Hampshire, around Cape Cod, and is currently spending time near Nantucket. As you can see in this map generated by Atlantic Marine Conservation Society on March 16th, #087 has most recently been favoring the edge of the continental shelf, where waters reach depths of 100-300+ feet.
This data is crucial to help us answer questions about the movements and habitat preferences of these animals. It’s also interesting to note how the movements of Harbor Seal #087 differ from Marine Mammals of Maine’s Harbor Seal #108 (red dots). #108 spent significantly more time in Maine before heading south, and has now moved west into the Long Island Sound!
Stay tuned for more updates on Harbor Seal #087’s travels, who knows where he’ll end up next!
MARCH 29, 2021 UPDATE
