Tracking a rehabilitated seal

LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. - The travels of a harbor seal named Ocean - returned to the water yesterday after being nursed to health by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center - will be closely tracked, thanks to a transponder attached to the animal just before it was released.

The Brigantine center has not used technology to follow a marine mammal in several years, said Bob Schoelkopf, its director. The device - glued to the back of Ocean's neck - will help researchers learn more about how the rescue and rehabilitation of such creatures affects their numbers in the wild, he said.

Ocean was found malnourished and dehydrated on the beach in Ocean City in October. Technicians worked nearly around the clock to feed and medicate him in a temperature-controlled habitat at the center.

Schoelkopf and others released Ocean into a cove in Great Bay, off Mystic Island in Ocean County. The seal swam out into the deep, only to return a short time later to shallower areas.

The public can follow Ocean's journey online at http://go.philly.com/oceanfollow - Jacqueline L. Urgo