The Maritime Aquarium mourns death of harbor seal Tillie
It is with great sadness that The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk announces the death of Tillie, an adored harbor seal.
She passed away in the late hours of Thursday, December 21, at 37 years old. At 37 years old, Tillie was considered geriatric in age and was one of the oldest seals in the Aquarium’s population. Her health had slowly been declining over the last few weeks.
Tillie’s passing comes just three weeks after the passing of Ariel, another beloved harbor seal who lived to be 33 years old. A majority of The Maritime Aquarium’s harbor seal population is considered geriatric in age, with an average life expectancy of around 25 years old in human care, and even lower in the wild. Their long and healthy lives are a credit to the extraordinary care and compassion given by our best in class Animal Husbandry team.
The Animal Husbandry team worked to support her and keep her comfortable through her remaining last days at the Aquarium. Medical care for our seal population includes annual physical exams, weekly check-ins with our Veterinarians, monthly weight monitoring, and regular diagnostic testing including blood and tissue samples.
Dr. Jim Micinilio, one of the Veterinarians for The Maritime Aquarium said: “Many of our seals are getting on in age, which can go hand in hand with common medical issues like cataracts, arthritis and cancer. It’s not that different from how people age.”
Tillie was born at Mystic Aquarium May 30, 1986, to her mother Susie, who was a resident here from 1988 until her passing in 2016. She came to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in November of 1988.
She was known for her sweet personality, petite stature and big eyes. She was very close with her trainers and was always looking for them both in and out of the water. Tillie’s claim to fame was giving Paul Newman a kiss back in July 1997.
President and CEO Jason Patlis said: “All of us at the Aquarium are mourning the loss of Tillie, especially so soon after the loss of Ariel last month. Most of our harbor seals have been with us for decades, and have individual personalities and connections with our marine mammal team; each loss is uniquely difficult, and even harder when we are forced to confront the harsh realities of caring for a geriatric population that continues to age and reach the end of their lives.”
Interim Director of Animal Husbandry Rachel Stein said: “The passing of Tillie is incredibly heartbreaking especially after losing Ariel a few weeks earlier. We all loved her dearly and the team that has worked with her knows she has been a mainstay of the aquarium since it opened and we will miss her.”
Trainer III Clay McArdle said: “Tillie was a very easy seal to train and was both an excellent teacher and student. We will miss her and her sweet personality; it will be hard not having her around.”
Our Animal Husbandry and Veterinary teams await the results of Tillies necropsy to determine the cause of her passing.
Aquarium visitors can share memories and photos on Tillie’s memorial page.
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