Seal Pup Found in Montauk will be Released Saturday

A gray seal pup will be returned to the water on Saturday, more than three months after she was picked up on a Montauk beach. 

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation rescued the pup, now known as Freckles, on March 16. People walking on the beach found her stranded and Freckles spent the past three months recovering from malnutrition and oral ulcers, according to Joanne Biegert at the foundation. 

"She has gained over 32 pounds while in rehabilitation, and has been very active in the last few weeks. She is definitely ready to go," the foundation said of her pending release, which will take place in Hampton Bays on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

Anyone wishing to see Freckles released into the bay can gather under the Ponquogue Bridge on Dune Road. For directions, click here. 

Well-wishers can also bring a donation for the foundation, such as bleach, Simple Green cleaning solution or laundry detergent.

Freckles isn't the only release scheduled. Tabasco, a female gray seal pup that was rescued from Atlantic Beach in April, will be released at Coast Guard Station Shinnecock in Hampton Bays on July 7. Tabasco had cuts and scrapes on her body and was missing patches of fur from an alopecia condition when she was picked up on April 24. She's been eating 12 pounds of fish a day and is ready to find them on her own now.

The Coast Guard station is also holding an open house that day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.