Lily the seal released back into wild at Assateague

Grey seal Lily was released back into the wild June 9.

About 550 people came to watch Lily return to the Atlantic at Assateague State Park after seven weeks of rehabilitation at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Lily was rescued in early April by the Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute at Bethany Beach. She had a broken jaw.

MERR brought her to the aquarium in Baltimore, where her jaw healed over time without the need for surgery. Lily was about a month old when she was rescued.

During rehabilitation Lily has gained about 12 pounds. She now is a healthy 50 pounds. Aquarium officials said she was not malnourished because of her jaw injury, though she was a bit thin when she was rescued.

"I'm so proud of Lily," MERR director Suzanne Thurman said.

Lily grew about 9 centimeters longer during rehabilitation, said Jennifer Dittmar, manager of animal rescue at the aquarium. Lily was rescued at an age where she had been weened from her mother, but had not yet learned to hunt on her own, Dittmar said.

The aquarium taught her how to hunt in the wild by providing her with foraging activities with her diet of herring and capelin.

"Once she started eating her natural instincts kicked in," Dittmar said.

Many rehabilitation cases at the aquarium are caused by human impact, Dittmar added, but in Lily's case the cause of her jaw injury is undetermined.

While Dittmar said they don't get attached to rehab animals, she did comment on Lily's attitude.

"She definitely had a feisty grey seal spirit," she said.

Seals are often spotted on the beach in the spring time. In the summer, the aquarium and MERR both rescue, rehabilitate and release sea turtles. Dittmar expects to release about 40 this year.

rpacella@dmg.gannett.com

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