crowd of cheering fans, rescued
harbor seal "Sodapop" was re-
leased into the ocean at Assa-
teague Island Thursday.
was at hand for the release. It was
a proud moment for her team, she
said, because the rescues don't
always have a happy ending.
a lot of times they come in in real-
ly bad condition. We don't inter-
vene unless they're in really bad
condition," said Dittmar.
he showed up at the National
Aquarium rehabilitation facilities
"emaciated, with a severe respira-
tory infection, and cuts and
scrapes on his face and hips," ac-
cording to Dittmar.
pop recovered nicely, putting a-
fish per day as well as twice daily
oral antibiotics for his infection.
Upon his release, Sodapop was
up to a respectable 53 pounds.
conscious with the planet's fragile
wildlife.
another just putting pressure on
their ecosystems, so it's great to
back out there," she said.
couldn't suppress the enthusiasm
of the large crowd that had walked
out on the beach to see him off,
including many students who were
on Assateague for field trips. Ac-
cording to Dittmar, it was the per-
fect time to let the harbor seal
back into the water.
ly ready to go," she said. "The last
few days he's had a lot of energy
and that's when you really know
that they're ready to get back out
there. It's a great feeling."
active since 1991 and has cared
for and released nearly 100 ani-
mals in that time. The team re-
sponds to "stranded marine mam-
mals and sea turtles" all around
Delmarva.
(NERS) through the National Oc-
eanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration (NOAA).
ities across the nation that per-
forms marine mammal and sea
turtle rescue and rehabilitation.
tional Aquarium in
Baltimore came to a
head yesterday morn-
ing when a rescued
harbor seal was re-
turned to the ocean.
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