Page 10 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch June 14, 2013 Southwest Bar & Grill • 410-208-1383 11033 Nicholas Lane, Ocean Pines • Ocean Pines South Gate Entrance Juvenile Seal Returns To Ocean After Completing Rehabilitation WELCOME FIREFIGHTERS AND FATHERS FATHER’S DAY SPECIALS FAJITAS $9.95 • PRIME RIB DINNER $12.95 HAPPY HOUR EVERY DAY 4 P.M.-7 P.M. • $1.25 TACOS LA HA RITAS $5 • RAIL MARGARITA $3 • RAIL DRINKS $3 DOMESTIC BEER $1.50 • IMPORT BEER $2.50 HOUSE WINE $3 • PREMIUM WINE $4.25 OCEAN PINES DINNER SPECIALS • MONDAY: $1.25 TACO NIGHT • TUESDAY: $9.95 STEAK OR CHICKEN FAJITAS • WEDNESDAY: $5 BURGERS AND BURRITOS • THURSDAY: $1.25 TACO NIGHT • FRIDAY: SEAFOOD NIGHT • SUNDAY: $9.95 STEAK OR CHICKEN FAJITAS LIVE ENTERTAINMENT 5 P .M.-9 P .M. SATURDAY, JUNE 15: RYAN JACKSON EVERY THURSDAY: KALEB BROWN OPEN EVERY DAY AT 4 P.M. • WWWOCLAHACIENDA.COM Reservations For Groups Of 8 Or More • Awarded Hall Of Honor By The Restaurant Association Of Maryland • Smoke Free The juvenile grey seal, named by aquarium officials as “Ponyboy,” is pictured making his way to the ocean on Wednesday morning. Photo by Shawn Soper By SHAWN J. SOPER NEWS EDITOR OCEAN CITY – A juvenile grey seal named “Ponyboy,” who was found on the beach in Ocean City on Easter Sunday with a severely injured left front flipper, somewhat reluctantly shuffled out of his crate across the crowded beach and swam into the surf on Wednesday morning. Ponyboy’s release on Wednesday was the latest in a recent string of releases of injured or ill seals back into the wild after graduating from the Marine Animal Rescue Program’s (MARP) rehabilitation unit at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. On May 23, the MARP crew, led by director Jen Dittmar, released another seal, “Sodapop,” from the beach at Assateague after an extensive rehabilitation program. On Wednesday, a large crowd gathered in anticipation on the beach just north of the Fishing Pier for the release of Ponyboy, and the rehabbed grey seal did not disappoint, although he certainly appeared reluctant to leave the safety of his keepers and the high life he enjoyed at the National Aquarium for the last few months. When MARP staffers opened his crate on the beach, Ponyboy shuffled out, looked around and attempted to go right back in. MARP staffers attempted to nudge him toward the sea with plexiglass barriers, but Ponyboy was successful in getting back into his crate. MARP staffers lifted the back end of the crate to encourage Ponyboy to move out, which he eventually did. Ponyboy then began a rapid descent down the beach to the waterline before entering the surf and splashing away. Even after Ponyboy entered the ocean, he still appeared to be not quite ready to leave his recent family and frolicked in the waves close to the shore and looked at times as if he would come back onto the beach. At one point, the young grey seal was spotted in the face of a nice waist-high wave as if he was taking a page out of the book of bodysurfers nearby. After several minutes, however, Ponyboy was seen with his head bobbing now well offshore and his return to the SEE NEXT PAGE