Sandra Siekaniec, 11/21/2007, Cold Bay Alaska, Ribbon Seal being loaded in a FWS vehicle.

Sandra Siekaniec, 11/21/2007, Cold Bay Alaska, Ribbon Seal being offloaded from the Coast Guard C-130 plane.

A wayward ribbon seal found stranded on the outskirts of Anchorage at the Palmer Hayflats State Game Refuge in October was released at Izembek Refuge on November 21.  The Alaska Sealife Center brought the seal to remote Cold Bay on a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 transport.  After the seal landed in Cold Bay, Izembek Refuge staff helped transport the animal to Izembek Lagoon where it was released to find its way to its normal habitat, the nearby Bering Sea. Thirty community members attended the release at 6:30 pm followed by an 8 pm presentation on the seal’s rehabilitation by Alaska Sealife Center staff at the Cold Bay Community Center.   "Diamond" the seal wore a satellite tag to track her location until molt. Additional information and tracking can be found on the Alaska Sealife Center web site http://www.alaskasealife.org/New/rehabilitation/index.php?page=firstpage.php