| PEPPER - Arrived 30/11/02 | |
| Pepper was one of three pups brought from Alastair Jack in Thurso. Alastair works for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. He took these pups to private facilities located at his own home, as there was no room for them at local rescue facilities. Due to work commitments he could no longer deal with the growing pups and asked us to step in. | 
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| He arrived at the centre after a long journey and was left to settle in the hospital. Pepper was rescued by Alastair just two days before his arrival in Oban. He was spotted by a Highland Council Ranger, hauled out near a ranger station. There were no adults nearby and so it was decided that he needed help, there were no obvious injuries but he was very hungry and quite stressed. He was around 3½ weeks old and partially moulted, but was fairly small at 14kg. He is a fairly aggressive pup but is defending his space rather than being nasty. He is coming along well now he’s with us at the centre and will rapidly put on weight. | |
| UPDATE 19th January 2003 | |
| Pepper has been a difficult pup right through his time here in Oban. He has always been tricky to feed as he becomes very nervous as soon as anyone gets in the pen. It took carers a long time to gain his trust which meant he has progressed quite slowly. He is now feeding well but is still being force fed, which means he cannot take the fish without us supporting his head.
Pepper had us all worried for a while since routine blood tests showed he had been exposed to PDV. This is the seal virus currently striking Common and Grey seals in European waters. He and Chilli showed mild symptoms with runny eyes and noses but never deteriorated too far. It was important to get their weight up and keep them hydrated but all our efforts seem to have paid off. Both pups are now recovering well. Pepper and Chilli will move into the weaning pool as soon as Jasmine can be released. Here they will learn to eat fish in the water and get some exercise. Both pups will be released straight from the weaning pool to the wild since there is still a chance that they could pass PDV to our other seals. | |
| UPDATE 15th February 2003 | |
| As Jasmine has now been released, the weaning pool was free for Pepper to move in. Chilli will join Pepper after a few days, but as he is the more aggressive of the two it was decided that Pepper would benefit from some time alone in the pool. Pepper is not very graceful in the water yet, but even seals can take a little while to perfect their technique. We hope that being in the pool will allow Pepper to learn to feed himself, allowing him to put weight on more rapidly as he prepares for release. | 
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| UPDATE 2nd April 2003 | |
 | Pepper has finally caught up with Chilli and reached his release weight, tipping the scales at 52kg. He and Chilli were both returned to the wild on the 2nd of April near Arisaig. Pepper was not as keen as Chilli to move to a bigger pool! Instead of heading out into the open water he tried to crawl back into his travel cage or hide his head under some seaweed. |
| After some gentle persuasion he finally moved into the sea, taking care to keep his head under the waves. As he moved into deeper water he explored the shoreline for a little way and then headed straight for Skye.
Pepper seems a little dopey but I´m sure he will soon adjust to life in the wild. | |
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