Postrelease movement of rehabilitated harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) pups compared with cohort-matched wild seal pups

Published source details Gaydos J.K., Vilchis L., Lance M.M., Jeffries S.J., Thomas A., Greenwood V., Harner P. & Ziccardi M.H. (2013) Postrelease movement of rehabilitated harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) pups compared with cohort-matched wild seal pups. Marine Mammal Science, 29, E282-E294.
Share Tweet Email

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Hand-rear orphaned or abandoned marine and freshwater mammal young Action Link

Hand-rear orphaned or abandoned marine and freshwater mammal young

A controlled study in 2010–2011 on an island in the Salish Sea, San Juan County, USA (Gaydos et al. 2013) found that harbour seal Phoca vitulina richardii pups reared in captivity and released back into the wild travelled greater distances and further from the release site than wild pups born at the same site and in the same season. On average, captive-reared seal pups travelled greater total distances (562 km), greater daily distances (7.5 km/day) and further from the release site (212 km) than wild pups (total 309 km; 2.6 km/day; 65 km from the site). Ten stranded seal pups that were rescued (at 3–8 days old) and captive-reared were fitted with satellite and radio tags and released at a seal weaning site on an island in September–October 2010 (at an average age of 81 days old). Ten wild seal pups (estimated to be 33 days old) were captured at the same site in August 2010 and fitted with identical tags. Tracking was carried out for an average of 77 days (captive-reared pups) or 133 days (wild pups) in 2010–2011.

(Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)