Selkie, a 10-12 weeks old male grey seal pup was rescued on the 19th of January 2025 in Jersey.   The pup was found with wounds to his body and malnourished for his age. With the only seal facility on the Channel Islands currently closed for refurbishment, the centre asked experts from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) charity if they could help.   BDMLR were happy to help and the pup was transferred to the BDMLR rescue hospital in Cornwall for initial care and treatment.

This photo below was taken on 3rd February 2025 at the BDMLR rescue hospital.

Update - 12th February 2205 : Selkie spent over 3 weeks in the BDMLR hospital and then was transferred to the Seal Sanctuary here in Gweek on the 10th February 2025, where he will continue his rehabilitation. These photos below were taken on 12th February 2025 in the hospital.

Update - 16th February 2025 : Selkie spent a few days in the Sanctuary´s hospital before he was moved down to the outside pool for his next stage of rehabilitation.   This means he is on the road to recovery and also has a deeper pool to swim in. 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. Selkie´s flipper ID tag number is SL324 (yellow). These photos below were taken on 16th of Februry 2025.

Update - 12th March 2025 : Selkie along with Flea have completed their rehabilitation and reached their ideal release weight of 30kg+.   They were released back into the wild at Dollar Cove, Gunwalloe on the 12th of March 2025. A few days before the pups were released, each pup was fitted with specialist GPS tracking equipment.   This innovative step will provide valuable insights into the pups´ movements and behaviours as they return to the sea.   The study, which is first of its kind in Southwest England, is part of the GPS tracking equipment for 15 grey seal pups of the 2024/25 rescue season being issued with the tags to examine their at-sea behaviour.   The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is working alongside Dr Luis Huckstadt, senior lecturer at the University of Exeter as he leads this exciting pilot study. Click here to see a selection of these and further photos of their release.

Satellite tags update - 4th June 2025 : As you can see from the Satellite Nav tracking map...Selkie has been adventurous around the English Channel up to Dover and Northern France.   Dung Beetle (2024/25 rescue season pup) has made it over to Southern Ireland.