Crowd flocks to Hammonasset to watch Mystic Aquarium release four seals
Jul. 25—MADISON — Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue program celebrated two historic moments Thursday morning.
Its staff released the largest number of rehabilitated seals in Connecticut at one time while the crowd that watched and cheered at Hammonasset Beach State Park was the largest ever for an aquarium seal release.
Around 600 people had sent RSVPs for the event that the aquarium had heavily promoted on social media. The crowd along the water in the fog appeared to near closer to 1,000.
Members of the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection as well as state park staff helped visitors park along the roads for the event as traffic started backing up as far as Exit 62 on Interstate 95 and continued through the park.
The animal rescue team got stuck in the traffic and had to be escorted to the site by DEEP conservation officers.
The four seals took their time coming out of their cages as the crowd watched. Staff and volunteers with the animal rescue program kept the visitors behind a line to keep the seals safe as they opened the doors to the cages. Kids sat on their parents' shoulders and people lined the rocks and stood in the dunes for a better view. A pair of paddleboarders watched from a safe distance in the water.
One of the seals, Tortellini, took a peek out of the cage when the door was opened then quickly turned around to face the back of the cage. After around five minutes of no movement from the animals, staff removed the tops of the cages to encourage the seals to explore. Two seals, Sealy-Dan and Cavatelli, moved toward the crowd together and seemed to be playing or fighting with each other before being guided to the water by staff.
"This means so much for our team to see this amount of support," said Animal Rescue Program Manager Sarah Callan.
The four gray seals, Sealy-Dan, Tortellini, Orecchiette and Cavatelli, are all around seven months old. They were all rescued at different times from Block Island in the area of North Light and spent the last few months being rehabilitated at the aquarium.
Tortellini was found in May entangled with buoys and fishing line with injuries to her flippers and neck. Orecchiette was rescued in April with an infected wound. Sealy-Dan was found in May with an infected puncture wound and Cavatelli was rescued in May with numerous lacerations.
"It's really unique that they were ready to be released at the same time," said Callan, "and we wanted to celebrate it."
