Two Injured Blind Seals Join Vancouver Aquarium Following Rescue and Treatment

Two injured blind seals are being taken in by the Vancouver Aquarium after being rescued and treated. This week, the two harbor seals that were saved made it to their new home.

Skeena and Pym, the two seals, are both females who are about six months old.

Nadine Trottier, a marine mammal trainer in the aquarium, said that the seals are doing fantastically well right now and are beginning to adjust to their new surroundings.4

Two Injured and Blind Seals

According to Trottier, Skeena was discovered in South Surrey in August with extremely serious eye injuries. She had to have the other eye surgically removed, and she is completely blind in one eye.

On Vancouver Island's southernmost point, Pym was discovered in September close to Sooke. When they discovered her, according to Trottier, she was severely dehydrated and also had multiple facial wounds. Later, the rescuers found out she has cataracts.

Over the past few months, both seals have received care at the Marine Mammal Rescue Center of the aquarium.

According to Trottier, the center receives 200 harbor seals a year, the majority of which are going back into the wild.

However, Pym and Skeena's vision is necessary for them to catch fish in the wild.

It would be extremely difficult for the seals to be able to survive in the ocean, Trottier continued. Trottier stated that although marine rescuers are unsure of the source of the victims' wounds, they do not think either incident was caused by a human encounter.

She speculated that the injuries might have been brought on by a run-in with another animal.

The seals are being trained to react to small splashes in the water that signal feeding time. The seals can respond to these signals and rise to the surface. The trainers will then feed the animals fish directly into their mouths to reinforce this behavior right away.

To keep the new aquarium residents entertained and mentally active, trainers have also begun introducing them to some toys, such as buoys and kelp strips. Staff will acclimate Skeena and Pym to their surroundings before relocating them to a larger enclosure and introducing the two to the other harbor seals.

According to Trottier, the two will represent their species as ambassadors, serving as a means of educating the public and fostering an affection for them that will inspire people to care for marine life, CBC News.

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Harbor Seals

Along the US West and East Coasts, harbor seals are among the most prevalent marine mammals. They frequently rest with their head as well as rear flippers raised in a "banana-like" position on rocks and beaches near the coast as well as on floating ice in glacial fjords.

Harbor seals were once hunted by state-funded bounty hunters in Alaska, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, and Maine because fishermen viewed them as competitors. In 1960, this hunting program came to an end.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the Marine Mammal Protection Act protects all marine mammals, including harbor seals.

A female harbor seal was discovered in 2019 with 23 pellets lodged in its face. The emaciated and listless seal was discovered in Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver, according to CTV News.