Tuesday Talk: The Importance of Block Island Seals and the Ecosystem
The Block Island Maritime Institute will be hosting Sarah Callan, Manager of the Animal Rescue Program (ARP) at Mystic Aquarium, and Meg Rondeau, ARP Data Specialist .They will be discussing the great importance that the Block Island’s Seal population has on the surrounding ecosystem and all the ways the public can safely admire these wonderful marine mammals from afar. Come out and
Sarah Callan is the Manager of the Animal Rescue Program at Mystic Aquarium. She graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2008 with a B.S. degree in Psychology and a double minor in Educational Studies and Communication and Performance Arts. In 2009 she spent a year in Queensland, Australia assisting with the rehabilitation of native wildlife at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Veterinary Hospital. In 2010 she moved to Oahu, Hawaii where she spent the next 5 years working with endangered Hawaiian monk seals in various capacities at the Waikiki Aquarium and with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hawaiian Monk Seal Health and Disease Program. In 2016 she was offered her dream job at Mystic Aquarium working with for the Animal Rescue Program. She currently manages a team of over 500 volunteers who play a critical role in the field response and rehabilitation of marine mammals and sea turtles along the coastline of CT, RI, and Fisher’s Island, NY. Sarah couldn’t feel more grateful to work closely with the local community to protect the ocean habitat and be a voice for stranded marine animals who call our shoreline home.
Meg Rondeau is a Data Specialist from Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program, which partners with BIMI to study the growing seal population on Block Island. Meg has her MS in Conservation Biology from the University of Queensland, Australia. She is on Block Island three days a week year-round and can be found survey
Donations are always appreciated!