Seal’s release celebrates recovery and memory
Aquarium’s animal rescue program restores ‘Jeffrey,’ named after volunteer, to good health
— Two months after Frank Groton Bernardo and his West Highland terrier Simon found a baby gray seal in the driveway of their Morgan Point home, members of Mystic Aquarium’s animal rescue program brought the seal back to the Noank neighborhood Thursday to release him.
About 25 residents, rescue program workers and one small dog gathered to celebrate the seal’s rehabilitation along with the life of one of their rescue team volunteers.
When the seal was initially discovered Jan. 15 on Masons Island, rescue program volunteers and staff were dealing with the recent death of one of their team members, Stonington resident Jeffrey Walker.
So they began to refer to the seal as Jeffrey.
The aquarium’s seal releases, which often take place at Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown, R.I., can draw hundreds of people, but Sarah Callan, the program manager for the aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program, said Thursday’s release was more personal and an opportunity to celebrate Walker’s legacy.
“I love that it was a private release, very intimate, which was very special for this case,” she said. “It was a very special case, because of our first responder Jeffrey. It brought us all together very soon after he passed. He was a very special volunteer for our program and did so much for the animals.”
Walker, who was well known on Masons Island, had a passion for marine life and conservation and had volunteered with the rescue program for more than a decade, his wife, Waller Walker, said Thursday.
“The ocean was really paramount
to his life after his family,” she said, adding that he was a giving and selfless man devoted to his rescue work.
Waller Walker said the seal made a deep impression on her when she walked past him on Masons Island in January shortly after losing her husband.
“I was the only one on the beach,” she recalled. “The seal looked like it was sleeping. As I was walking by it raised its head and looked at me and gave me a flipper wave. That undid me. So I have quite a connection to this seal.”
Residents on the island spent the night checking on Jeffrey, and he was gone the following day.
Two days later, Frank Bernardo and his dog Simon headed out of their Morgan Point home for a walk and discovered the seal just outside their garage door.
That day, the seal showed signs of illness and rescue staff determined he needed to be brought to the clinic. Once there, staff began referring to him as Jeffrey Morgan to honor both their late team member and the place he was rescued from.
When aquarium staff evaluated the 5- to 6-week-old seal pup, they determined he had a respiratory infection, was very underweight and dehydrated, and did not know how to feed himself.
Callan said Thursday that he has since learned to catch and eat fish and doubled his weight to 70 pounds. During his seven weeks at the aquarium, Callan said he was a good patient, and staff discovered he was very vocal and had a big personality.
Before his release, the seal was tagged with satellite and acoustic trackers.
The first will allow staff to monitor his location in real time for around three months, until it falls off. The second will send out a signal for 10 years and note his location when he comes within range of a receiver.
Callan said the rescue brought the community together, and the residents were invested in his progress, checking in on him frequently during his recovery and even gathering to feed him his last meal before his release.
Many of them had tears in their eyes as Jeffrey Morgan stopped halfway down the beach Thursday morning to turn around and look at everyone gathered to see him off. After a brief pause, he continued into the water where he swam around exploring for a bit before disappearing into the waters of Fishers Island Sound.
“It’s the perfect end to this story,” said Bernardo standing on the beach behind his Morgan Point home. “It really has come full circle.”