Freedom Is Complicated For Released Seals

WE WATCHED with wonder for the magic to unfold. Fifteen seals were about to be released back into the wild by an organization working in conjunction with the Vancouver Aquarium.

There was no big announcement. I was one of a few passersby lucky enough to stumble on the event at Crescent Beach during a recent walk.

The curious were drawn to the water's edge, slogging through the squishy beach floor with a sense of anticipation.

As we got nearer we could see the crates that contained the seals.

When volunteers and staff carefully unlatched the gates, the released seals must have wondered at their fate.

Their futures unknown, identification tags will give clues of their travels.

They slowly slithered their sluggish bodies along the sand to the sea a few feet away. Only one or two swam off without a single glance backward.

Most looked back, not ahead, with big puppy-dog stares at their caregivers as if to say, "Do I really have to go?"

Yes, they had to go. Their caregivers held a wall of boards to gently prevent them from coming back to the shore. Like birds in the nest or young adults in the basement, it was time to leave the comforts of what had become a nursery and loving home to the lost, malnourished, injured and abandoned.

Someone came along to record the important "coming of age" ceremony.

"Do I look my best? Is there a little seaweed tangled in my whiskers?"

Freedom is as dangerous as it is delicious. These seals must now catch fish in the wild on their own while trying to avoid being a whale's next meal.

Their lot, however, will likely be far better than what some seals in Canada, in stark contrast, sadly experience HERE.

In a paradoxical world of selective compassions, these rescued seals are fortunate to have been given a second chance at an independent life in the wild. Nonetheless, there was understandably some apprehension.

Mostly, however, there was exhilaration at seeing these endearing creatures continue on their journey in a natural way. People who gained their trust and became their friends seemed to say, "Here is the world ... enjoy it ... see what you can do in it. Try not to do anything foolish and if you are afraid try to be brave because the world, as they say, truly IS your oyster!"

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms