| MAGGIE - Arrived 25/08/03 | |
| Maggie was also found by the BDMLR in Thurso. The first concern that her rescuers had was the very large abscess on her shoulder. After a few days of initial care Maggie was also brought to the sanctuary. Our primary concern was also for her shoulder although she was very underweight for her age which was approximately 2 months on arrival. |
| We had a long struggle with Maggie, after a few days resting in the nursery her swelling had receded greatly and suggested problems with her bones rather than an abscess. Upon examination by x-ray it was found that she had an infection in the shoulder joint of her left flipper. This infection was halted by a course of antibiotics but had already caused significant damage that would prevent full movement of the joint.
Combined with this major problem was a period where Maggie was unable to keep any food down. In retrospect it seems clear that one of her antibiotics was causing this upset but at the time it seemed like her digestive system may have been unable to cope with the quantity of food required to keep her alive. After a long struggle and many courses of treatment Maggie suddenly turned a corner, gaining weight for the first time since her arrival and becoming much livelier. Maggie was then moved into the weaning pool for her greatest test. If she was unable to swim she would have to be euthanased, if she couldn´t get out of the water she would have to remain in captivity but if she was good at both she could be released into the wild. Amazingly she surpassed our greatest hopes by immediately swimming well and managing to haul-out with only the smallest difficulty. Maggie is now ready to move outside as she is eating whole fish from the pool. Within the next few days she will make her next step towards freedom. | |
| UPDATE 10/12/03 | |
| Maggie is now very close to her release weight and should return to the wild within the next few weeks. She is in great health and although she sometimes uses her injured flipper slightly less she can still swim at great speed. She is competing for food well now but occasionally loses out to Lorne or Bart. She loves being in the outdoor pools although she is quite a loner, often hanging back from the other seals. This is probably due to the extended period that Maggie spent alone in rehabilitation although some seals can just be less sociable than others. | |
| Maggie Released - UPDATE 31/01/04 | |
| Maggie has really had a tough time since arriving at the sanctuary, with a severe infection that threatened to take her life. After an intensive period of rehabilitation she finally left the sanctuary for the wild on the 20th of January. Bart and Maggie were released at the same time but did not stick together once free. |
| Maggie was keen to get going and immediately swam out a long way, after pausing very briefly to look back to shore she continued on out beyond our sight. Maggie weighed a very healthy 38kg on release to ensure that her slight disability was countered and she was given the best possible chance of survival. | |
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