A female seal that was protected in a weakened state on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in May was returned to the sea in Monbetsu City, Hokkaido on the 28th.

The "Okhotsk Tokkari Center" in Monbetsu City is working to protect weakened seals.



In May this year, the center protected a baby spotted seal in Omu-cho, Hokkaido, on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and decided to return it to the sea after it had recovered sufficiently.



On the 28th, we released the protected seals to the sea at a port near the center, and the staff occasionally waved to the seals as they looked back.

This seal is equipped with a device that transmits data such as water temperature and salinity to help research drift ice. It means that it will come off.



Miku Watanabe of the "Okhotsk Tokkari Center" said, "When I took care of her, she was thin and weak, but she has recovered well. I hope she will live a long and healthy life by getting along with wild seals." I was talking to



Professor Yoko Mitani of the Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, who conducts research based on data from devices attached to seals, said, "With seals, we can observe data from places that humans cannot reach. This research will help us understand the impact of ice on the sea. I would like to see the behavior of the seals," he said.