Images and Words by Nick Upton / Naturepl.Com

Seal Hospi al Images and words by Nick Upton / naturepl.com A young grey seal pup lies washed up and Thankfully, a local café owner has spotted wheezing on a mat of seaweed at Wide- the seal on her morning walk along the mouth Bay, north Cornwall, UK. Blood beach, and has raised the alarm. A response weeps from wounds on its body and flippers team is on its way, and a heart-warming tale and there’s no sign of its mother nearby. of rescue, rehabilitation and release is about Without help, it will be dead within hours. to unfold... [Left] Café owner Donna La Broy with the injured seal pup she discovered at Widemouth Bay. [Right] Dave Jarvis fielding reports of injured seal pups [Below] Michelle Cle- ment arrives at the scene. [Below right] The pup had a bad puncture wound on her flipper. friend – a trusty towel - as she Many grey seal pups die at sea offshore. Dave handles the calls colour, she can tell it’s about gets near. Even weakened seal or on inaccessible shores, but from home alongside his work a month old. The pup is weak pups can summon hidden the one that just washed up on as a quantity surveyor, and and extremely sick; a healthy reserves of strength and deli- Widemouth Bay is one of the alerts teams of animal medics pup would head for the sea ver nasty bites in self defence, lucky ones reported each year based closest to where pups when approached, or at least and this pup finally rears up as to British Divers Marine Life have been found. He heads out threaten with its teeth, but Michelle approaches, but she Rescue (BDMLR), a voluntary himself if they’re close to his this pup barely raises it head, soon restrains it by wrapping network with over 3,500 trai- home near St. Ives, but Wide- peering at Michelle with big, the towel over its head and ned animal medics dedicated mouth Bay is nearly two hours mournful eyes. The greenish safely pins it down by strad- to rescuing marine mammals drive away and injured seals mucus trickling from its nose dling it. Seal pups are surpri- around the UK twenty-four-se- need urgent attention. This is another bad sign, and there singly strong and regular seal ven throughout the year. From pup is a job for Bude area co- are deep puncture wounds handlers report significant September onwards Dave Jar- ordinator and animal medic peppering its body and flip- toning of the thighs! Michelle vis, a regional co-ordinator for Michelle Clement, who reaches pers. Michelle dons a face mask inspects the teeth and gums for Cornwall, fields hundreds of the beach within 20 minutes of before inspecting more closely, signs of ulcers, bleeding and reports of seal pups in distress Dave being called. as flu viruses and other diseases damage. They seem okay, but found on beaches around the Michelle inspects the pup ca- can pass from seals to humans. the pup’s breathing is shallow county and on the Scilly Isles refully. From its size and coat She grips a seal wrangler’s best and too fast. Grey Seals Under Pressure Grey seals are scarcer than African elephants, with a world population of around 300,000 bor- dering the north Atlantic. Some 110,000 live around the UK, breeding in late autumn and early winter on offshore islands, beaches and coves, clockwise from Devon to Norfolk. In some areas, British populations have been growing, whilst in others they’re in steep decline. Grey seal pups suckle their mother’s rich milk for their first 2-3 weeks, trebling their 12 kilogram birth weight and shedding their fluffy white baby coats, but are then abruptly abandoned when weaned, often on wild rocky shorelines, to fend for them- selves and to begin catching fish. That’s a big ask for all pups, even more so for any separated from their mothers early due to human distur- bance or if their mothers die. Nearly half of all grey seal pups die in their first year, more in stormy winters, and many seals of all ages die through human pressures from che- mical pollution, oil spills, becoming tangled in nets, and boat strikes. Intense culling reduced grey seal numbers to a low point in the UK a hundred years ago, and despite legal protection in 1914 and a recovery in their population, hundreds are still shot under license year-round by Rachel Shorland, a new- dehydration. Its temperature needs further treatment. fish farmers and salmon fishermen in Scotland. The numbers killed illegally may be far higher. ly qualified animal medic, of 38C, taken with a rectal Between them, they roll it Grey seals declined by over 90% in the Baltic Sea joins Michelle within a few thermometer, is around a de- into what looks like an elon- in the last century due to pollution and hunting, minutes and between them gree above normal, and some gated sports bag with venti- and across their range they repeatedly come they run a series of checks of the wounds look deep; the lated panels, especially desi- under pressure from fishing interests calling to assess the pup. It’s a fe- pup definitely needs emer- gned for seal rescues. Rachel for major culls, despite the lack of any scien- male, based on the two ori- gency care. Michelle uses an hooks the handles onto a tific evidence that fices close together under antibiotic spray, and trying spring balance and braces seals reduce its tail and its eyes are drier not to get bitten, eases a si- herself to lift it as Michelle re- commercial than they should be, a sign of licon hose into its mouth cords the pup’s weight. At 27 fish stocks. and slides it down the pup’s kg, it’s lighter than it should Globally, the grey seal is throat to its stomach. Rachel be for its age and relatively then pours in fluids contai- easy to carry off the beach one of the rarest seal spe- ning electrolytes and glucose for the next phase of its care. cies. Almost 50% of the using a funnel. Rehydrating All recovered pups are given pups quickly is vital as they names by the rescue teams, world population lives in can die very suddenly wit- and this one is christened British & Irish waters. hout such help, but this pup Jenga. Grey seals are found all along the rugged coastline of north Cornwall, often in areas that are very hard for rescue teams to reach. [Above] BDMLR medics Simon Dolphin & Michelle Clement are assisted by divers Mo Samuels and John Wheeler. [Left & Right] Seal pup ‘Boggle’ is wrapped in a towel to be assessed and treated by Simon & Michelle. Every rescue is different and Grey seal mothers locate the BDMLR teams recount Not all call-outs lead to rescues tales of hazardous rope des- their pups in a crowded as some pups have mothers cents to rescue pups from the breeding colony by smell nearby who are still suckling foot of tall cliffs, or arduous and sound. As soon as the them, while others are heal- climbs up cliff paths while thy weaned pups sleeping on carrying 35kg pups. pups are born, mother & beaches between foraging trips. Rescues are often collabo- baby begin sniffing and Nevertheless, the rescue team’s rative operations involving help is often crucial. Even heal- many kinds of people. In the calling out to eachother. thy pups can get into difficul- same early October week that ties, and one that was found on Jenga washed up, a younger He called the location in to kington Haven beach. Mi- Tintagel beach surrounded by pup with a white baby coat Dave Jarvis, who recruited the chelle Clement joined them curious, barking dogs, was was found by local lifeguard help of aptly-named BDMLR there and the pup was given relocated by Michelle and Tom Comber while fishing animal medic Simon Dolphin. the same kind of emergency her colleagues to a much in a remote cove that people With the help of divers Mo treatment as Jenga. Suffering quieter beach for release, with rarely visit. He’d descended Samuels and John Wheeler, with a chest infection and a blue dye sprayed on its back to a very steep cliff path, using and their inflatable dinghy, lot of bruising from rocks, the show it had been handled by ropes in places, and found the Simon rescued the pup from pup was kept for further care, BDMLR. pup in very poor shape. the cove and ferried it to Crac- and given the name Boggle. Pups in very poor condition need immediate veterina- ry care, and Michelle soon transfers Jenga to a ventilated transport crate and drives her to a seal pup treatment facility run by BDMLR’s vo- lunteer vet Darryl Thorpe. He’s worried by the depth of some of her wounds, which he identifies as bite marks, perhaps from a bull seal see- king to mate with her mother, or from another adult female the pup may have approached in error. Sur- face wounds heal quickly, but infections from deep bites down to the bone can be very hard to treat. Darryl takes a blood sample for ana- lysis, injects antibiotics for a mild respiratory infection At birth a seal pup has a and checks and swabs Jen- woolly white coat, which ga’s wounds. With Michelle’s it retains for about three help the pup is given more fluids and the team hope that weeks.

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