She was a pathetic, skinny orphan when she was rescued from a pile of kelp and driftwood back in January. She had a touch of pneumonia in her lungs from being tossed in the waves. That cleared up with medical care, but she needed food to grow big enough to cope with life as a young elephant seal on her own.
On June 20, she was big enough, and able to catch and eat fish on her own, so she was released at Chimney Rock in Point Reyes National Park.
That's her in the front, giving us a last look before she scuttles to the water. Perhaps one day someone will identify her on the beach at Piedras Blancas. Her orange flipper tag number is W0266. It's on her right flipper, as she is a female.
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| Credit Rebecca Ryan © The Marine Mammal Center
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