Kipper was rescued on 20th December 2020
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Kipper, a 10 weeks old female grey seal pup, was rescued from Porthtowan beach on 20th December 2020 by marine mammal medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
She was found with various puncture wounds on her body and a wound to her rear right back flipper.
Photo Credit : Lizzi Larbalestier - BDMLR
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The pup was taken to one of the BDMLR´s holding facilities and stayed there until a pen became available on 5th January 2021 at the Sanctuary´s seal hospital.
Click here to see a selection of photos of Kipper taken during her 2 weeks stay at the BDMLR´s facilities.
Photo Credit : Lizzi Larbalestier - BDMLR
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Update - 13th January 2021 : Kipper is now recovering in hospital after seeing the vet and is on treatment to help her recover.
It will not be too long before she is moved down to the outside pools for her next stage of rehabilitation.
Update - 27th January 2021 : Kipper is currently in the outside nursery pools learning how to dive and to socialise with other rescued seal pups.
Her flipper tag ID number is SL128 (green).
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Update - 11th February 2021 : Kipper had a trip to Head and Head Veterinary Practice recently, as an x-ray showed a very bad bone break with infection already spreading.
The decision was made to remove the fifth digit to save the flipper.
The Animal Care Team are expecting Kipper to make a full recovery and once fully healed, she will be released back into the wild!
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Update - 28th February 2021 : Kipper is now in the outside nursery pool number 2 with another rescued seal pup named Jambalaya. She currently weighs 29kgs.
Update - 11th April 2021 : Kipper is now in the rehabilitation pool, it will not be too long before she is released back into the wild soon.
Her flipper tag ID number is SL128 (green).
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Update - 19th April 2021 : This photo of Kipper was taken on 17th April 2021 in the rehabilitation pool. Currently weighs 27kgs.
Click here to see a larger version of this photos.
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Update : 30th April 2021 - Kipper along with Crème Brûlée, Dumpling, Halloumi and Scampi have completed their rehabilitation and the time came for them to be released back into the wild from Dollar Cove on 30th April 2021.
Click here to watch a short video of the seal release.
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Update - 5th February 2025 : Kipper was seen at haul-outs along the coast of Cornwall on 3rd March 2024, 21st December 2024 and 22nd January 2025, 29th January 2025 and 5th February 2025.
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By monitoring the behaviour of seals after release back into the wild, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Seal Research Trust and other organisations can use this information to define the best practice standards and policies that they can share with the international rescue community.
Each seal´s fur pattern is unique and enables the organisations to track them for life.
Seals face many challenges, yet we all depend on them to balance our marine ecosystem, which is essential to make the oxygen we breathe.
Seals are our globally rare wildlife tourist attraction, helping diversify coastal economic prosperity.
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