That's right, everyone! I'm officially done cross training, (which has been such a wonderful experience) and I am permanently back in the ASLC Stranding Department for the remainder of the summer. I could not be happier with the rehab department. Everyone is wonderful, and it is such a perfect fit for me.
The unique part of working in a rehabilitation department, is that you never know what your day will consist of. The health of the animals in your care is much less certain than the animals under permanent care of a facility. You also could get a new animal in your care... which is what happened to me a few weeks ago.
When I was working in the aquatics department, I got a call from my supervisor asking me to go to Anchorage (about 3 hours away) with her to pick up a stranded harbor seal pup. This particular pup was stranded in Cordova, and some kind fishermen put it on a flight to Anchorage. That's right, this seal pup rode in an Alaskan Airlines flight, and we picked him up at the back of the airport. It was probably one of the weirdest things I have ever done.
We pulled over on the side of the road several times to check his temperature, and get him started on tube feeding fluids. We met the veterinarian at the Alaska SeaLife Center, where we did a full physical assessment. She explained that she was looking for eye rings, which were an indicator of good hydration.
Wobbe, the seal that we retrieved from the airport in Anchorage
I have already learned so much about the rehabilitation of seals, and have since gotten so much more hands on experience. For example, during a tube feed, we have one person on the animal "restraining", which basically just keeps them still while we feed, to prevent any injury to the animal. I have been restraining for our feeds throughout the day, and yesterday, I got to restrain a seal (who hasn't pooped in over 48 hours) for an enema! I have never had such hands-on experience.
Multiple times a day, we swim some of the seals. This involves filling a tote several inches with either full salt-water (which comes in straight from Resurrection Bay), or brackish. We include several live salmon for them to chase, and potentially kill, and eventually, eat.
Watching the seals make tremendous progress has been so incredible. I am so excited for the future, and to see how the rest of the summer plays out.
xoxo,
Jules
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