A baby seal rescued on Block Island this summer returns to the sea. Watch Cranberry go.

Cranberry, the one-year-old seal rescued on Block Island at the start of the summer, was hesitant about heading back out into Rhode Island Sound.

Still a very young seal, Cranberry had found life in the wild, having suffered a fishing line wrapped around her tail at six months old. It took a week after calls started to come into the Marine Stranding Hotline, for the Mystic Aquarium Rescue Program to reach her at the remote North Light Beach on Block Island, a popular spot for seals.

The Providence Journal covered the complexity of her rescue in July.

When the aquarium staff brought her in for examination, she was suffering from a respiratory infection, an abscess on her spine, and a severe wound and bone infection on her hind flipper. Part of the flipper had to be amputated.

Just shy of six months later on a frigid December morning, Cranberry had been cleared for release and was on Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown across the Sound from where she had first been stranded. Unlike some seals who book it right for the waves, Cranberry seemed less sure about heading back to where it all began, putting her nose out of the crate and then pulling it back in. When she became more confident, she stuck a flipper out only to pull it back in.

With a crowd of people behind her watching, when she did flop out of the crate after a few minutes, the Mystic Rescue team quickly pulled her crate away lest she try to go back in again.

After what appeared to be a rather indignant look around at the people who took her crate away, Cranberry headed back to the waves.

Cranberry was outfitted with a GPS-tracking device so researchers will be able to monitor her movements. They are particularly interested in finding out if she will return to Block Island.

Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program covers 1,000 miles of coastline

Since 1975, Mystic Aquarium has led animal rescue efforts along 1,000 miles of shoreline covering Rhode Island, Connecticut and Fishers Island, New York, as part of the Greater Atlantic Region Stranding network.

Since 2018, Rhode Island has seen a 47% increase in annual marine mammal reports, which includes whales, dolphins, turtles and seals. And the seals on Block Island generate about 29% of the Rhode Island calls, according to the aquarium.

Animal rescues: Block Island is a popular place for seals. Here's what happens when one needs rescuing.

How to report a marine animal stranding in Rhode Island

If you see a stranded or dead marine animal or sea turtle, call Mystic Aquarium's 24-hour hotline at (860) 572-5955, ext. 107, and expect a return call. Keep at least 150 feet away from the animal, even if it's dead, and do not attempt to touch or feed it.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rescued Block Island seal Cranberry released by Mystic Aquarium in RI