Rescued Baby Bearded Seal Pup Is Doing Great #Shaktoolik

KTUU:  On April 13, a bearded seal pup arrived at the Alaska SeaLife Center after it was found stranded on the shore of Shaktoolik. School children in the village protected the seal pup until it could be rescued.

After her arrival at the center, the ASLC requested the kids name the seal, and the students all agreed on the name ‘Saktuliq,’ the Inupiaq spelling of Shaktoolik, which means ‘scattered things’.

In an update from the ASLC, after being in the care of their Wildlife Response Team for almost three months, Saktuliq is doing great.

When she first arrived at the center in April, she only weighed 40 pounds. According to Chloe Rossman with the ASLC, normally bearded seal pups are about 50-70 pounds when they are born, so Saktuliq was severely underweight.

In her first two months at the center, Saktuliq grew to over 130 pounds.

Saktuliq is now visible in the center’s ‘I. Sea. U’ critical care unit.