| BRUCE - Arrived 29th June 2004
|
| Bruce was spotted in a garden at the North end of Loch Creran only 10 minutes drive from the sanctuary! He was a very long way from the waters edge on a steep sided gully up a stream. The owner of the property contacted the S.S.P.C.A who advised her to watch the pup from a distance for 24 hours. The next day the pup was found even further up their garden, it was then decided that he definitely needed rescuing.
| 
|
He is currently being tube fed on a special milk substitute called “Multi Milk” which has been formulated especially for seals. He’ll be fed on this until he is two weeks old. During this time he will be given antibiotics to help him build his defences against infection. He will then be force fed fish and as soon as he learns to feed for himself, he will be moved to the weaning pool. Once he has gained 20Kg in weight he will be moved to our outdoor pools where he will get a chance to interact and compete for his food with our Adult Seals. Once he gets to between 30-35Kg he will be released back into the wild where he belongs. For now he is sharing a pen with Nemo and they are hilarious to watch. This pairing is definitely a love/ hate relationship.
Bruce is constantly following Nemo around the pen, trying to suckle on him whenever he gets close enough. Nemo is not very tolerant of this behaviour and bites and scratches Bruce to get him off. Things do settle down every once in a while when the two get off to sleep. Luckily nether one can do any damage as their teeth are still so small.
|
Updated 31st August 2004
| Bruce moved through to the weaning pool full time on Tuesday the 31st August. He is still a little bit slow on the uptake but is hand feeding fairly well. He will hopefully start to investigate the fish left on the bottom over the next few days and eventually learn to eat by himself. For now he is enjoying playing with the other pups and being in the water most of the day.
| | Updated October 2004
| | Bruce may just be a pup that likes to take his time, others may call him lazy, but there is no doubt that Bruce has been with us ‘forever’. After 2 months of care in the dry pens of the nursery, he eventually was deemed healthy and plump enough to handle life in the weaning pool. However, it took him seven weeks to learn to eat fish for himself. So, despite being one of the first pups to arrive, he was the last to go outside to the adult pools. He finally got there on the 14th of October 2004. Bruce is a really lovely character although he is a bit of a loner and keeps himself to himself.
| | Updated January 2005
| | Bruce is the lazy boy of the gang and has come out of his shell recently. He is now interacting with his pool mates and competing well for fish (which had been a concern in the past). He is finally up to target weight, but it has been a struggle.
| | Updated April 2005
| | Bruce has been released back into the wild.
| |