14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, a young harper seal named Snow said good-bye to staff at the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) at the University of New England in Bidderford, Maine and made its way back into the ocean after living in captivity for about a month.
Live Science tells us that the seal was rescued by members of nonprofit group Marine Mammals of Maine in later January.
At the time when volunteers working with this group found it, the seal was dehydrated and was hanging about on a frozen marsh.
Shortly after being discovered, the young seal, estimated to be about one year old, was brought to MARC, and staff here did their best to help it get back on its flippers.
The marine mammal eventually made a full recovery, and was allowed to return to its home in the ocean.
In case it washes ashore again in the future, staff at MARC have attached a tag with an ID code and the center's phone number to its fin. This way, the people who find the seal can contact them.
Since the beginning of this year until now, a total of seven seals have been rescued and brought to MARC.
Once their health condition improves thanks to proper nutrition and shelter, the animals are all to be released back into the wild.