Orion was rescued on 26th October 2013
Orion, 6 weeks old female grey seal, was rescued on 26th October 2013 from Hawker´s Cove near Padstow.

She had open wounds to her rear flippers and left hand side of body and weighed 25kg.

The seal pup was taken to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue´s (BDMLR) temporary seal holding facility until a pen was made available at Gweek.

Photo Credit : Sue Sayer - Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT)
Orion
Update - 16th November 2013 : Orion was moved to Gweek on 30th October 2013. Her wounds have healed well and she is now in a nursery pool learning how to feed for herself.
Update - 22nd November 2013 : Orion is now in the convalescent pool with the resident seals and rescued pups, Aurora, Eclipse, Mars, Nasa, Moon, Galaxy and Milkyway.

Update - 2nd December 2013 : This photo below of Orion was taken on 1st December 2013 in the convalescent pool.     Her flipper tag ID number is 158 (orange) - tagged on the left.

Click here to see a larger version of this photo below.
Update - 29th December 2013 : Orion is currently in the convalescent pool learning how to compete for fish during feeding time.

Click here to see a further photo of Orion taken on 28th December 2013.
Update - 20th February 2014 : Orion along with Miranda, Mars, Moon, Indus and Crater were returned to the wild on 17th February 2014 at Carbis Bay.

Click here or below to watch a short video of the release.
Update - 12th February 2024 : Orion was spotted at haul-outs along the coasts of Cornwall and Devon on 1st September 2014, 8th November 2014, 19th January 2015, 22nd January 2015, 2nd March 2015, 18th May 2015, 25th August 2016,

Photo Credit (below) : Sue Sayer MBE - CSGRT - 1st September 2014
20th & 23rd November 2017, 11th, 14th & 28th December 2017, 1st, 11th, 15th, 18th & 29th January 2018, 26th March 2018, 14th May 2018, 21st June 2018, 23rd, 30th & 31st August 2018, 21st September 2018, 19th November 2018, 24th & 31st December 2018, 3rd & 17th January 2019, 4th, 14th & 18th February 2019, 18th & 25th March 2019, 5th April 2019, 23rd May 2019, 3rd, 13th, 16th, 17th & 20th June 2019,

Photo Credit (below) : Sue Sayer MBE - CSGRT - 28th December 2017
1st, 4th, 15th & 25th July 2019, 5th, 11th, 12th & 26th August 2019, 2nd & 26th September 2019, 3rd, 10th, 24th, 28th & 31st October 2019, 7th & 11th November 2019, 5th, 9th, 12th, 16th & 23rd December 2019, 6th, 9th 23rd, 26th & 27th January 2020, 3rd, 7th & 19th February 2020, 18th & 26th April 2020, 4th & 20th May 2020, 4th, 5th, 18th & 20th July 2020, 1st, 8th & 17th August 2020, 2nd, 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 23rd & 26th September 2020, 17th, 18th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd & 26th October 2020, 5th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 23rd & 26th November 2020, 1st, 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th & 31st December 2020,

Photo Credit (below) : Sue Sayer MBE - CSGRT - 18th September 2020
10th, 11th 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th 21st, 22nd, & 25th January 2021, 25th February 2021, 7th, 25th & 27th March 2021, 11th April 2021, 10th, 21st & 29th June 2021, 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 27th & 29th July 2021, 12th, 23rd & 31st August 2021, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th & 29th September 2021, 9th, 14th, 21st, 22nd, 24th & 30th October 2021, 1st, 4th, 8th, 15th, 17th, 18th & 22nd November 2021,

Photo Credit (below) : Sue Sayer MBE - CSGRT - 22nd November 2021
2nd, 6th, 13th, 16th, 20th & 28th December 2021, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th & 22nd January 2022, 2nd & 7th February 2022, 3rd & 18th March 2022, 3rd & 25th April 2022, 18th May 2022, 9th June 2022, 1st, 7th, 23rd & 30th July 2022, 15th, 22nd & 28th August 2022, 1st, 5th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 15th & 19th September 2022, 6th 11th, 18th & 20th October 2022, 7th, 10th, 17th, 18th November 2022, 21st & 23rd November 2022, 5th, 8th, 9th, 15th & 26th December 2022, 9th January 2023, 2nd February 2023, 21st March 2023, 5th, 12th, 15th & 29th June 2023, 3rd & 18th July 2023, 5th, 14th and 28th August 2023, 7th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 22nd, 25th & 28th September 2023, 2nd, 9th, 12th, 23rd, 26th & 31st October 2023, 6th, 9th, 13th, 16th, 23rd, 27th & 30th November 2023, 26th & 29th December 2023 and 8th & 12th February 2024 by members* of the CSGRT.

Photo Credit (below) : Sue Sayer MBE - CSGRT - 6th October 2022
*Members of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT) volunteers spend hundreds of hours of their own time to photo, identify and watch over the seals around the Cornish coast.

Each seal´s fur pattern is unique and enables the CSGRT volunteers track them for life. Seals face many challenges, yet we all depend on them to balance our marine ecosystem, this is essential to make the oxygen we breathe. Seals are our globally rare wildlife tourist attraction, helping diversify coastal economic prosperity.

We would like to share the amazing story of Orion, she rescued in 2013 by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), rehabilitated at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, and released back in the wild in 2014.   The wonderful news is...she is still being ID´d today and has had 3 pups so far!!!

By monitoring the behaviour of seals after release back into the wild, the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, BDMLR and CSS, can use this information to define the best practice standards and policies for rescue, rehab and release that are shared with the international rescue community.

Find out more about Orion´s story...click here to read.
Meet Orion, an incredibly lucky entangled seal, and hear his story!

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