Turtle was rescued on 20th January 2022
Turtle, a 12 weeks old female grey seal pup, was rescued from Carbis Bay in St Ives on 20th January 2022 by members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) marine mammal medics.

She was found malnourished and with a suspected respiratory infection.

The pup was taken to the BDMLR´s Cornwall Seal Hospital for the night and then the next day transferred to the Seal Sanctuary in Gweek for treatment and rehabilitation. 		Turtle
Turtle Update - 30th January 2022 : Turtle has been in the hospital for a few days now and is responding well to the course of prescribed antibiotics. It will not be too long before she is moved to the outside nursery pool for her next stage of rehabilitation.

Click here to see a larger version of this and above photos of Turtle were taken on 29th January 2022.

Her flipper tag ID number is SL132 (white).
Update - 24th February 2022 : Turtle is now in the outside nursery pool 3 and learning how to compete for fish during feeding time. She currently weighs 27.5kg.

Click here to see a larger version of this photo and a further one of Turtle were taken on 23rd February 2022. 		Turtle
Seal Release Update - 6th March 2022 : It was such a beautiful sunny winter´s morning when it was time for Turtle along with Reef, Cherry, Tykey and Stormy, to be released back into the wild on 5th March 2022 at Dollar Cove. Turtle was first out of the trailer.

Click here to watch a short video.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo and further ones of the release.

There are more photos on our Flickr account.

Also click here to see a photo of Turtle in the rehabilitation pool just before she was released. 		Turtle - Seal Release - 5th March 2022
Update - 26th October 2025 : Turtle was seen at haul-outs along the coast of Cornwall on 20th January 2022, 12th February 2023, 12th June 2023, 6th September 2023, 27th & 30th October 2023, 1st, 8th & 15th, 22nd November 2023, 8th, 15th, 18th & 29th December 2023, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 24th, 29th & 31st January 2024, 2nd, 5th, 7th & 9th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 23rd & 26th February 2024, 3rd, 4th & 13th March 2024, 25th April 2024, 17th & 24th May 2024, 28th June 2024, 1st July 2024, 21st & 28th October 2024, 20th December 2024, 31st January 2025, 1st, 15th & 28th February 2025, 10th March 2025, 18th & 25th April 2025, 23rd May 2025, 15th & 25th August 2025 and 26th October 2025.
(c) Photo Credit : Terry Thirlaway - Turtle - 20th December 2024
Turtle - 20th December 2024 - Terry Thirlaway
(c) Photo Credit : Terry Thirlaway - Turtle - 26th October 2025
Turtle - 26th October 2025 - Terry Thirlaway
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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