May The Force Be With You, Obiwan

I've tried and tried to upload my video of the seals' release. It came out beautifully, and though I can watch it on my computer, I can't get it to fully download--it gets to about 20% downloaded onto Youtube and then I get an error message.

I'll keep trying, but if nothing else, I'll make Jo a CD of it and here are photos for everyone.

The students from the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) at the University of New England brought the three seals in kennels and lined them up on the beach. One of the students had a bullhorn and she said the seals were (left to right): Tito, Penny, and Obiwan.

Here's Tito peeking out of his kennel. He looks like he's smiling to see that big, blue ocean.

We counted to three, and all the kennel doors were opened at once. Tito hit the sand first, then Penny, and then Obiwan. They flip-flopped their way down the beach, wasting no time.

Tito takes the lead!

First came Tito, second was Penny, and Obiwan was third. We all cheered!

It was sweet to see how often they checked in with each other to be sure they were all coming. Penny, in particular, seemed to want to make sure Obiwan was still behind her. One of the MARC students was standing near me, and she said these three had shared space together at the center. She told us they like to release young seals in familiar groups. When you need to be brave, it's so nice to have a friend beside you.

They stopped at the water's edge for a beat. I don't know if they were taking a quick rest before tackling the waves or if they were stunned by what they saw ahead! The open ocean is a lot rougher and bigger than the pool at the center.

But they went into the water together.

They fought hard to get out past those breaking waves.

Every time they were pushed back toward shore, they tried again.

One seal made it past first, and the other two had to make a couple more attempts, but those two stayed together and the last I saw of them was a dive under the waves.