Fika was rescued on 19th December 2025
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This gorgeous female grey seal pup was spotted in the dunes on the beach at Holywell Bay by a lady who was walking with her dog. She contacted her friend, Lizzi, who is a marine mammal medic volunteer for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), and asked if she could pop down to the beach to check on a seal pup. Lizzi immediately contacted BDMLR´s head office and was instructed to check on the pup.
Lizzi headed down and monitored the pup for a while from a distance. As the pup looked underweight for her age, Lizzi and another volunteer medic then went ahead with a full assessment. She was found very underweight and dehydrated with some wounds on her front flipper and unsettled stomach.
It was decided that the young seal pup needed to be uplifted and taken to the BDLMR seal hospital for initial care and treatment. This pup has been named Fika.
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Photo Credit : Lizzi Larbalestier - BDMLR
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Update - 14th January 2026 : After lots of rest and treatment at the BDMLR´s hospital, Fika was transferred to the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek on the 6th of January 2026 to continue her rehabilitation. Fika just needs to put on some more weight and finish healing then she will be able to be moved outside to the nursery pools, make some friends and get strong for release back into the wild.
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Update - 28th January 2026 : Fika was moved down to the outside nursery pools for her next stage of rehabilitation. This means she is on the road to recovery and also has a deeper pool to swim in. These photos below were taken on the 28th of January 2026 in nursery pool number 3.
Pups in the nursery 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 SL375 (yellow).
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Update - 19th February 2026 : Fika has graduated from the nursery pools into the rehabilitation pool. These photos below were taken on 18th of February 2026.
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| Update : Fika, Jelly, Panettone and Panna Cotta were released back into the wild on 4th of March 2026.
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