Dalian, 17 Apr (Xinhua) -- Eight "Bohai Spirit" spotted seals slide down the slide from their boats, looking back at the sea from time to time, and finally swimming into the depths of the sea. On the 16th, in the waters of Dalian, 5 artificially bred spotted seals and 3 wild spotted seals that had been rescued were released to the sea.
The five captive-bred seals released into the sea are all in their infancy. Before being released, they received more than 1 month of rewilding training, had the ability to prey on live fish autonomously, and were able to adapt to survival in the wild and meet the standards of release.
"Artificial breeding of spotted seals released into the sea can effectively increase the number of spotted seals in nature and have positive significance for the protection of spotted seal populations." Tian Jiashen, an associate researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Marine and Fishery Sciences, said that the release of the returned sea area is located near the landing roost of the spotted seal, which helps the released seals to integrate into the group.
Staff wore satellite tracking markers for spotted seals to monitor their migration paths and places of stay, further study the life habits of spotted seals, and evaluate the effectiveness of artificial breeding of spotted seals released into the sea.
The spotted seal is a marine "pinniped" mammal that is a national first-class protected animal. Every winter and spring, spotted seals migrate from the Pacific Ocean to the Bohai Sea near Dalian and the northern yellow sea, "Tim Ding import" on the sea ice, raise their cubs, and are known as "Bohai spirits".
From the 1980s to the mid-1990s, due to changes in the ecological environment and poaching, the number of spotted seals coming to Liaodong Bay decreased sharply. In recent years, as the state has stepped up its efforts to protect it, the number of spotted seals in the liaodong bay has remained at about 2,000 and has an increasing trend.
Source: Xinhua Net