| MALE RESIDENT SEALS |
FLIPPER
FLIPPER was the very last seal pup to be kept on as a permanent resident because it couldn't be released out into the wild. Rescued in 1981, he had suffered some damage to the respiratory system due to coming into contact with some sort of pollution out in the wild. He is always helpful when we clean his pool out; he grabs the hose and instead of pointing it at the wall thinks it's much more fun to point it at us!
| For the latest "weekly update" on Flipper click here | ||
| MAGNUS | |||
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MAGNUS is the only adult male in the convalescence pool so he gets a lot of attention! Now in his thirties, Magnus was originally rescued by a zoo as a pup, from the Isle of May colony in Scotland. They decided to keep him as a biological specimen in their grey seal exhibit but, over the years, Magnus gradually outlived all the other seals until he was the only one left. The Zoo then decided to make the exhibit into something else and to put Magnus to sleep. We heard about Magnus's plight and offered him a home at our centre up in Scarborough.
| In 1997 we thought Magnus seemed a bit lonely at Scarborough so we decided to move him into our Convalescence Pool at the Sanctuary in Gweek where he would have the company of all our lovely females and also all the pups we rehabilitate in the winter. Pet Rescue made Magnus into a real TV celebrity by following the difficult move-we had to enlist the help of the Territorial Army just to get Magnus out of the pool!
| Latest "weekly update" on Magnus or Magnus and his daughter | |
MARLIN
Marlin was rescued from Sennen Cove on 29th of January 2002. He was very malnourished and was found with netting around his body. Luckily, the netting had caused no injuries so it was just a case of putting weight on him. Marlin took to eating fish for himself very quickly and soon piled on the pounds in the hospital. | However, when he was transferred to the convalescent pool with the other pups, the animal care team soon realised that something was wrong. Marlin did not feed very well and he seemed to shy away from the other pups if they were near him. He started to lose weight and so the vet was called. Our suspicions were confirmed, unfortunately Marlin is completely blind.
He is now in a smaller pool with two other pups so that the animal care team can control the amount of fish he receives and monitor him more closely. As Marlin’s blindness would appear to be congenital he would not be able to find fish in the wild, unfortunately this means Marlin cannot safely be released. The animal care team are now working at getting Marlin used to being handled to make any husbandry procedures such as weighing and administrating medication less stressful.
| For the latest "weekly update" on Marlin click here | |||
RAY
Ray was picked up from Widemouth Bay on the 12th of October 2001, approximately 3 weeks of age. He was fairly malnourished and found at the top end of the beach, as far away from the water as possible with his nose pressed up against the side of a rock face. When he first arrived at the sanctuary it was apparent that his behaviour was a little different to the other pups.
| We are monitoring him closely to see how he reacts with other seals and how well he competes for his fish. He is very quiet and brain damage has not been ruled out, the vet also drew attention to the shape of Ray’s head, which is very different to the other pups. It may be that Ray suffered trauma to this area as a pup, possibly crushed by an adult bull? Further tests revealed he is brain damaged, so he has been given a permanent home at the sanctuary.
| For the latest "weekly update" on Ray click here
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