Abeona, a 6-8 weeks old female grey seal pup, was rescued on the 8th of October 2025 from Polly Joke by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) marine mammal medic volunteers. She was underweight for her age and had her left eye completely shut, indicating a significant injury. This pup had been monitored for a few days by the BDMLR.
A decision was made to take this pup to the BDMLR´s seal hospital in Cornwall for initial treatment and care.
Update - 24th October 2025 : After two weeks of care at the BDMLR´s seal hospital, where she received antibiotics and pain relief, Abeona began to show small signs of improvement and even started opening her injured eye. She was then transferred on the 20th of October 2025 to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary to continue her rehabilitation journey.
Update - 7th November 2025 : Vets from Rosevean Veterinary Practice have been closely monitoring Abeona´s condition, hoping that anti-inflammatories and antibiotic eye drops would help the injury heal. Unfortunately, after several weeks of treatment, it became clear that the damage was more severe than first thought.
To prevent further pain or complications, vets have now decided that surgery to remove Abeona´s damaged eye is the best option. The operation will ensure her long-term comfort and give her the best possible chance at a full recovery.
Despite her injury, Abeona has shown herself to be a feisty, clever little pup who absolutely loves her fish. The team remains hopeful that following surgery, she will adapt quickly to having vision in just one eye and will be able to join the other pups when the time comes for release back into the wild.
Update - 14th November 2025 : We are so happy to share that Abeona´s surgery to remove her eye went really well.
Thanks to the incredible team at Rosevean Vets, she is now back to her playful and feisty self, playing with the hose and growling at the team like nothing ever happened!
Thank you so much for all your kind donations and support, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary truly couldn´t do it without you!
Update - 6th December 2025 : Abeona was moved down to the outside pools earlier today for her next stage of rehabilitation. This means she is on the road to recovery and also has a deeper pool to swim in. She currently weighs 16.5kg.
Last week Abeona had her stitches out after an operation to remove one of her eyes. She is very feisty!
Pups in the outside pools will be learning how to behave in the wild, interacting with other seals and also competing for their fish, which are all vital skills they will need when they are released back out into the wild.
Her flipper tag ID number : SL336 (yellow).
Update - 26th December 2025 : Abeona is now in the rehab pool and currently weighs 23.9kg.
Update - 16th January 2026 : Abeona is nearly ready to be released back into the wild in the coming weeks, she currently weighs 27.4kg.
Update : Abeona along with Sundae, Angus and Mousse Pie have completed their rehabilitation and reached their ideal release weight of 30kg+. They were released back into the wild on the 19th of January 2026.
