NATIONAL SEAL SANCTUARY


The National Seal Sanctuary would like to wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope to see you all in 2010.

This Christmas and New Year has really kept the Animal Care Team on their toes, with pups being admitted to our Hospital. Over this period we have seen four more arrivals at the Sanctuary, first to arrive was a little pup from Sennen. The caller was concerned when they came across this pup on the beach. At the scene we found an eight week old pup, who was dehydrated and with puncture wounds, so this pup was brought back to the Sanctuary.
Back at the Sanctuary this pup was given a clinical assessment and put into isolation 1 of the hospital, where its wounds were cleaned and treated and started on a course of antibiotics. This pup is a little boy, and also very noisy so has been named Peeves. Update: Peeves has now been moved into our main hospital and is having water in his pen daily, so he can build up his muscles and he is eating fish for himself.
	Second to arrive was on Christmas Eve (24th December 2009) a concerned member of the public had come across a pup at Godrevy near Hayle. The team were despatched and at the beach found a little seal around 8-10 weeks old very malnourished, with a snotty nose and breathing problems.
The seal was uplifted and taken back to the Sanctuary and put into isolation 2 where we could do a full clinical assessment. On closer examination we found this pup to have a problem with its left eye, and was started on a course of eye drops, also it had minor wounds to its front flippers, and was given a course of antibiotics to help fight any infection. This pup weighs 20 kilos and has been named Fawkes. Update: Fawkes has now been moved to hospital pen 3 and is doing well feeding for himself, and infection has cleared up.
With spaces in the hospital now at a premium, non critical cases were being despatched to Devon, a holding facility, and the Sanctuary only open to severe patients, calls were still coming in.	Two more pups were picked up and were on their way to West Hatch and one critical case was on its way back to the Sanctuary from Newlyn on 30th December 2009.
Luckily we had a few days grace before our next patient arrived at the Sanctuary on the 30th December 2009, which turned out to be an extremely busy day with pup calls and rescues all over the county.
First came a call from Padstow about a seal with netting around its neck, this is the Sanctuary’s second net injury this year. The netting had cut deep into her neck and had caused an infection resulting in a very high temperature, but also had puncture wounds in its rear flippers, which also needed to be cleaned and treated.
The pup was taken back to our hospital, at 6 weeks old, this pup was malnourished possible caused from the netting making it difficult for this pup to catch fish weighing only 16.5 kilos. This pup is a little girl and is in isolation 1 and has been named Lilly.
	This pup was extremely malnourished weighing in at 14.5 kilos with puncture wounds and holes in its rear flippers, snotty nose and ruckliy breathing. This pup has had to be put in to our temporary pen in the hospital. It is a little girl and has been called Pomona Sprout. Update: Pomona is a very quiet pup and is spending lots of time sleeping, as she is fighting an infection in her flippers, sleep is the best medicine for any patient and we should see an improvement in her condition over the next few days.

With four new arrivals and two released, who is where and how are they all doing? Well still in the hospital is Winky who´s eye is slowing getting better and our vet is keeping regular check ups, we need to know how much vision, if any, is now left in her eye that was infected. The vet will be doing a pressure test to assess this.
	Ron who is now Ronny still has some of her fluffy white coat left but only on her rear flippers. We are now putting water in her pen and she is learning to rip up her fish and eat it.
Snape is still sharing his pen with Angelina who is very slowly putting on weight, and is still having assisted feeds from the team. Snape is doing very well and over the next few weeks should be moved outside to our nursery pools. Photos below: Snape (left) - Angelina (right)

Nursery pool 1 we have Hermione who still refuses to put on weight and is being assisted with feeding by our Animal Care Team. Skeeter, 25 kilos, doing well. Scabbers, 31.5 kilos, also doing well eating most of the fish. Sirius Black, a seal who likes to chase and try to catch the Animal Care Team when they go into the nursery pool.

Nursery Pool 2 Rowena, 22 kilos, doing well has teamed up with Dumbledore, 23 kilos, who between the two seem to be eating most of the fish.
Malfoy, 18 kilos, and a little sweetie doing well,
Hooch is doing well, and Beedle also doing well and steady at putting on weight.

Nursery Pool 3 and 4 have our six pups, Deadly Nightshade, Triffid, Scarlet, Snowdrop, Woundwort and Mezerow that were transferred from the RSPCA, are all doing well together in this pool.

Pups are continuing to make a lot of noise but are all feeding well and putting on weight that we may have another three ready for release next week and they are the RSPCA´s pup called Stinkweed - 41.5 kilos,
Dobby - 48 kilos and Buckbeak - 44.5 kilos.

The other pups in weight order are:-

Rubeus - 39 kilos
Hufflepuff - 38.5 kilos
Molly - 32 kilos
Pigwidgeon - 30.5 kilos
Ginny - 30 kilos
Dolores - 27 kilos
Luna - 27 kilos

		National Seal Sanctuary
		Issue 34
		2nd January 2010