A hooded seal was recently spotted in distress in Rhode Island, far from its native habitat, and was rescued by aquarium workers, WPRI 12 reported. The incident highlights how changes to our planet's climates negatively impact wild animals.
What's happening?
Hooded seals, which are native to the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, reportedly hadn't been spotted in Rhode Island since 2013.
Although it was unclear what had driven the recent seal that far south, Mystic Aquarium workers knew they had to step in when the seal was spotted eating rocks.
"We received reports to our hotline of people approaching this animal and trying to interact with it," said Sarah Callan, manager of Mystic's animal rescue program. "This is an arctic species that is used to being on ice packs and on snow … so, this animal went into this stress response which we see from harp seals and other arctic species and they eat the substrate they're on."
Callan said that the seal, which was found to be severely dehydrated, was being worked on by the Mystic Aquarium team. Although it is still unclear what the result will be, for the time being, the seal is reactive and responsive.
Why are seals important?
Like other types of marine animals all over the world, seals are bearing the brunt of the changes to our climate caused by the overheating of our planet — largely the result of air pollution created by dirty energy sources such as gas and oil.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, warmer ocean temperatures and ice melts are especially bad for species like the hooded seal, forcing them into open water where they can be eaten by predators or drown.
Seals also face threats from plastic pollution, in which they frequently become entangled, as well as changing ocean chemistry, which is causing some species to lose their fur.
What's being done to protect seals?
The most important things that we can do to help protect seals and other vulnerable marine species are to 1) stop overheating our planet and our oceans with pollution-spewing dirty energy sources like gas and oil, turning instead to clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and 2) stop plastic pollution by preventing companies from producing endless amounts of single-use plastic products.
Many organizations are also fighting specifically to save as many seals as possible, including a group in Cornwall, England, that set up a makeshift rehabilitation center for injured seals, and, of course, the rescue team from the Mystic Aquarium that is currently treating the hooded seal found in Rhode Island.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
