When sick and injured animals are spotted along Connecticut’s shoreline, they often end up at Mystic Aquarium.
The aquarium even operates a 24-hour hotline, where people can send in reports of marine life in need. The hotline typically receives around 150 calls a year.
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to give these distressed marine animals a second chance at life. It's part of the Animal Rescue Program, which Mystic launched in 1975.
Mystic provides rehabilitation to animals along the coastline of Connecticut, as well as Rhode Island, New York and Fishers Island.
A majority of the patients rescued in Mystic’s program are seals, ranging from harp seals to gray seals. The seals will spend between two to four months receiving specialized 24-hour care from veterinarians, volunteers and interns, with a focus of getting them out of there as quickly as possible without having to depend on humans.
“We often joke that these animals get better health care than we as humans do,” said Sarah Callan, manager of the Animal Rescue Program. “We really, truly do everything that we can to give these animals that second chance out there.”
The information used while rehabilitating an animal also gives workers clues about ocean conditions.
“We're not only finding information about gray seals, or specific population, but the information that we get from these animals tell us about overall health, which affects humans as well,” Callan said. “Whether they have plastic in their stomach when they come in tells us a lot about the ocean health and all the damage that humans are doing. But then we can use that information to be a voice to these animals and help protect the ocean even more and inspire people to take action.”
Once rescued animals are ready for a potential release, they undergo a series of tests to ensure they’re in good health. The aquarium coordinates with local communities along coastline to return the animals to the water.
Connecticut Public spent a few weeks with Mystic’s rescue program to document the work of bringing the seals a second chance at life. Explore the rescue effort in the Mini-Doc above.
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Mystic Aquarium has a hotline for reports of sick, injured or stranded marine animals,
