Seal Rehabilitation - Lauwersoog, Netherlands

A walkway splits this pool down the middle, and the seals swimming on either side are the ones closest to going home. The camera looks down on the final rehabilitation pool at the seal center in Lauwersoog harbor, on the edge of the Wadden Sea in the northern Netherlands.

Every seal here arrived sick, injured or orphaned, often as a tiny pup washed up alone on the beach, and after weeks of care this is where they build up their strength before being released back into the Waddenzee. That's home to thousands of harbor seals and a growing number of gray seals.

They spend their time swimming laps, hauling out onto the ledges to rest and chasing their pool mates. An empty pool is good news, because it means fewer seals need help.

Did You Know? The gray seal is the largest predator in the Netherlands. Males can weigh around 600 pounds, more than any land animal living wild in the country.

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