Magical Names For New Pups
Staff at the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek are again planning for the new grey seal pup rescue season, with a very interesting naming theme.

Every year the Sanctuary's Animal Care Team choose a theme with at least 50 names, to be the naming topic for the influx of new patients.

"With around 40-50 pups coming in each year, giving a different name to each can sometimes prove a bit difficult, so we tend to choose a theme each season!" said Tamara Cooper, Animal Care Team Supervisor.
Sebastian, a rescued seal pup (2007/8 season) in the underwater viewing window
"Over the years we have chosen the names of rivers, plants, beer and Cornish names and this year it was proving difficult to find another good theme, until one of the team who is very excited about the new release of the Harry Potter film thought that it would be a fantastic idea!" added Tamara.

Names that have made the final list include the main characters Harry, Ron, Hermonie and some of the smaller characters including Dobby the house elf and Fluffy, Hagrid's three-headed dog.

The Sanctuary has also renamed its four nursery pools after the Hogwarts houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. When the pups move out of the hospital, they will be 'sorted' into their own pool/house.

"All the staff at the Sanctuary are big fans of the Harry Potter books and films, and there was a lot of excitement when we decided on this subject" added Tamara.

Grey seal pups are normally born around late August or early September and it is from then until the following March that the Sanctuary receives the most calls regarding rescues.

The Sanctuary is also home to those seals / sea lions that are unable to be returned to the wild. The Sanctuary's two newest residents are two male Patagonian seal lions, Noito and Diego, homed at the Sanctuary to ease overcrowding at their former sanctuary home in Benidorm.

The Sanctuary is open from 10am daily.
Press Release issued by: The National Seal Sanctuary
For more details, please contact Tamara Cooper or Laura Ward on 01326 221361
Date: 17th July 2009

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