A sick harbor seal was rehabilitated and released back into Kachemak Bay earlier this month. Bystanders first spotted the harbor seal, eventually named Hubbard, by a donor to the Alaska SeaLife Center, on the Clam Gulch beach. The roughly two-month-old seal was very thin and wasn’t using his right flipper. Alaska SeaLife Center volunteer Marc Webber and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Intern Allison Kintner along with several Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge interns, transported Hubbard to Soldotna, where he was met by the center’s Wildlife Response Team.
The center treated the seal for a bone infection at the end of his right flipper. As his health improved, Hubbard began eating more and quickly gained weight. He made a complete recovery by early November. The center’s Wildlife Response Team along with Homer Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteers, led by local biology professor Deborah Boege-Tobin, released Hubbard into the water at Bishop’s Beach.
This story has been updated with more information about the interns and volunteers who helped assist with the seal’s rescue and release.
