Rehabilitated Seal Pups Monitored with GPS Tracking
10 Dec 2013Vancouver Aquarium releases seals being tracked with GPS after rehabilitating them.
Five adorable seal pups that had been rehabilitating at the Vancouver Aquarium were finally released. But they weren’t released alone; each one of them has a GPS tracking transmitter on the top of their head to be able to track and monitor their movement after being released in an effort to see how well rehabilitated seals fare after being released.
The seals have been cared for at the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre located at the Vancouver Aquarium. Here, the seals were each equipped with a GPS tracking device that was placed on top of their head in an effort to monitor their activity while in the water.
When being released, the seals were taken from the rescue centre to Porteau Cove in Howe Sound. Each one was safely transported in a dog kennel and released on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, which is north of Vancouver. There were seven seals in total: two of which did not have GPS transmitters, but were also rehabilitated at the aquarium.
Once the kennels were removed from the transporting vehicle and opened, the seals peeked their heads out to get a grasp of their surroundings, before bouncing out and onto the beach. It took them a few minutes on the beach before they finally braved the water.
The GPS trackers do not harm the seals and are simply glued to the top coat of their heads. To the general observer, these satellite transmitters look like electronic Mohawk-style devices on their heads.
The battery life of each tracker is about a year, but due to the combination of water and glue, it may fall off their head before the year is up. Each transmitter cost the aquarium about $1,500 to purchase an additional $200 monthly for monitoring the seal’s activity.
Researchers at the aquarium intend to watch and research data from these transmitters so they can see how far seals travel, including the longevity of their travels.
Staff veterinarian, Martin Haulena, wants to find out the best conditions for releasing seals in the future and if changes need to be made to the Vancouver Aquarium’s rehabilitation program. He told reporters:
“I want to see how these animals do, and how they do kind of dictates what we do next year. Are there differences or changes that I want to do in their release criteria? Release them at different weights? Release them in different areas?”
This isn’t the first time the aquarium has attempted to monitor an animal after being released from their rehabilitation program. Earlier this year, they released an adult harbor porpoise that was glued to its dorsal in. Unfortunately, it only lasted about 70 days, so they are hoping for more data from the seals.
Haulena has been rehabilitating at the aquarium for 20 years, and still calls his job and the releasing of rehabilitated animals, “awesome.”
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