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A truly international "Seal-ebrity" , Lou-Seal, a wayward adult female grey seal, was rescued by Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo near Tobacco Bay in March 2019. She was emaciated and dehydrated, with some superficial wounds, and clearly far from home. She is the first known grey seal ever rescued in Bermuda and the island community rallied with great support for this "off-islander" and named her Lou-Seal.
After being treated at BAMZ for several weeks, she was flown by Cargojet to Newark Airport then transported to Mystic Aquarium for continued rehabilitation at their Animal Rescue Center, where she was cared for by the wonderful veterinary and animal care team of professionals and volunteers. I am fortunate to live in Mystic, CT, and my wife and I both volunteer and support the Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program, so I was able to observe Lou-Seal as she gained strength and reached her goals of weight and body condition and proper blood counts and was ready for release about six weeks later. As I hope my portrait of her shows, when she got the "Seal of Approval" for release off the coast of Rhode Island, she was a robust and healthy grey seal. She even had a local beer named for her! I love painting seals and I am inspired by Lou-Seal's story, one of many milestones to come from Mystic Aquarium and Sea Research Foundation.
