Welly boot sales set to plummet as seal pup Holly returns to the wild Wellington boot stockists in the Oban area can expect a dip in sales now that rescued grey seal pup Holly has been returned to the wild. The feisty youngster has made a full recovery at the Scottish SEA LIFE Sanctuary after being found weak and starving on a beach at Easdale in Argyll in early November 2011, weighing just 10 kilos. Just two weeks into her convalescence Holly made national headlines when word spread of her welly-wrecking antics. "As soon as she had perked up she revealed a really aggressive side," said care team supervisor Dennis Chamberlain. "And she chose to vent it on our footwear, destroying eight pairs of wellies inside a fortnight." Now Holly is a healthy 36 kilos and fighting fit and has been given her freedom again. She was released on Monday (20th February 2012) at a secluded location close to a grey seal colony off the Isle of Luing. As a nice end to the story SEAFARI Oban provided the boats to take Holly back to the wild, which is quite fitting as they were the ones who originally found her. At the same time as heaving a sigh of relief, however, Dennis and his team will also be more than a little sad. "Even though we are extra careful to make sure our rescued seals are not mollycoddled and retain all their wild instincts, it´s impossible not to get attached to them," said Dennis. "With Hollie, we were sometimes literally attached until she let go of our boots, but we´ll still be sorry to see her go." Children from nearby Barcaldine Primary School also attended the Sanctuary to bid Holly farewell, and one of them was filmed for the event for the Glow website - the online community for Scottish schools. It will later also be uploaded to a new Deep Blue website, being launched at the end of the month by the Scottish Zoological Society. Issued by The Scottish SEA LIFE Sanctuary For more details, please contact Craig Connor on 01631 720386 Press Release date: 21st February 2012

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