Clare was born in the wild on aproximately 1/1/82. On December 23, 1984, Clarisse was found beach stranded and injured on the New England coast after having been shot in the head at close range. She has been completely blind for the majority of her life due to this injury in the wild. After her rescue, Clare was rehabilitated at a marine rescure center. On January 10, 1993 she was sent to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. There she lived with a large community group of seals and gave birth to her only pup, a male named Buoy. When the National Aquarium decided to remodel their seal exhibit, they were forced to begin finding new temperary homes for their seals. The Aquarium of Niagara was fortunate enough to be selected as the new home for Clarisse. Due to the renovating of the seal exhibit, Clarisse is on extended loan to the Aquarium of Niagara for at least six to ten years from her arrival date. She arrived at the Aquarium of Niagara on December 11, 2000, having been transported in a truck. The trainers and workers in the truck had to drive from Baltimore, Maryland to Niagara Falls, New York with the windows rolled down to ensure that Clare would not get too warm. Clare brought some of her toys from Baltimore: an egg shaped chick that jingles when tilted, and a large white foam mat. Her trainers stayed a short while to make sure she would have some familiar voices around her to help her acclimate to her new surroundings. Using her whiskers, Clarisse learned to feel her way around her new pool. Since her arrival she has become comfortable in her new settings and continues to entertain onlookers as she swims below them.Clarisse is an Atlantic harbor seal. She is currently 19 years old. She has a brown/gray coat of short hairs with dark spots covering her body. Her right eye is a solid, pale blue color. Her left eye, which sustained the injury, is what is known as a "bulbous eye". The outer covering of the eye is gone leaving the lens and retina visible. She is fed a mixture of herring, capelan, lake smelt, and squid each day. Occasionally she may get a mackerel as a special treat. Although she loves squid, if given a piece consisting of only a head and tentacles (lacking the long hood), she will spit it back out. Clare's favorite toy is her large, white foam mat. She will flop her way onto it and bounce on it as well as crawl underneath it. She has also been seen to bite the edge of the mat and, still holding it in her mouth, roll over to the other side of the mat, wrapping herself inside of it and creating a "Clare-taco".