Greg Early 1, Robert Cooper 1, Scott Kraus 1, Michael Williamson 2 1. Little is known about the behavior and movements of rehabilitated marine mammals following their release into the wild. Although the New England Aquarium has, over the past twenty years, tagged and released over four hundred seals and cetaceans, less than five percent of these animals have been re-sighted. Most of the tagged animals that are reported are reported dead. Preliminary data indicate that three of the tagged seals most likely did not survive.
Dive patterns appear less complex with predominantly shallow, short dives.
Similarly, dive behavior differs greatly between species. Following release, most seals leave the release area and spend little time near or on shore, perhaps, in part accounting for the low level of resighting success from conventional, visual tags or marks.