Species : Common Seal
Date Arrived : 19th June 2013
Rescued from : Heacham South Beach
Age : One day old
Gender : Female
Reason for rescue : Pup was abandoned by her mum.
|
|
 |
On the 19th June while Keith was walking his dog on Heacham South Beach in the morning he stumbled across a little seal alone on the beach. The tide was right out and mum was nowhere to be seen so he contacted the animal care team by the only method he had - Facebook!
He sent his friend and Animal Care Supervisor Kieran a message at 7am that morning and luckily for Keith, Kieran was awake and had his phone by his bed!
Upon finding the message the seal rescue team was assembled and they headed for the beach!
|
Deploying staff at three points along the beach the rescue team quickly found the seal, she was well hydrated but had been separated from her mum and would not survive on her own so they rescued her and brought her into the hospital.
After assessing her, the animal care team arranged for a visit from a local vet who confirmed that she is a healthy pup just in need of a surrogate mum or two! She weighed 10kgs which is a good weight for a new-born seal of one day old.
|
|
 |
During her first day at the seal hospital, she was given some fluids and by the next day, she was started on a special fish-soup mixture. This pup has been named Robin.
Click here to see a selection of photos taken of Robin in her pen on 22nd June 2013.
|
Update: 18th July 2013 - Robin is almost a month old and has gained 5kg, she is currently in the hospital´s weaning pool.
Click here to see a larger photo of Robin taken on
12th July 2013.
|
|
|
Update: 2nd August 2013 - Robin has joined Mystique, Dangermouse, Batman, Spiderman and Wonderwoman in the pup´s weaning pool. She is settling in nicely and definitely enjoying the chance to make some friends!
Robin´s favourite thing to do is swim, so being in the pup pool means she gets the chance play in the deeper water, which she loves. Robin´s flipper tag number is 087 (red).
Click here to see a larger photo of Robin.
|
Robin and all her friends in the weaning pool are very healthy and putting on lots of weight, each eating up to 3kgs of fish a day now! They´re getting nice and fat, which means they will be able to move to the big outdoor pool with the resident seals as soon as they learn to pick up the fish from the water for themselves.
Click here to see a larger photo of this taken on 30th July 2013 in the pups weaning pool. |
|
 |
Update: 31st August 2013 - Robin has learnt to feed herself and has put on lots of weight! This means that she does´t have to rely on the Animal Care Team to hand feed her any more, so they can just throw the fish in the pool for her!
Robin was moved to the outside resident pool in mid August, where she will learn to socialise with the adult seals. It will be good for her to get used to swimming in the deeper water and being outside in the elements too.
|
Update: 9th September 2013 - Robin is putting on lots of weight and is in her final stage of rehabilitation and will be released back into the wild within the next two months.
Click here to see a collage of photos of Robin taken on 7th September 2013.
Robin´s flipper tag number 87 (red).
|
|
 |
Update: 30th October 2013 - Robin, along with Mystique, Batman, Wonderwoman, Spiderman and Dangermouse were released back to the wild on 20th October 2013.
Click here to see a selection of photos taken by Sarah Parker.
|
Each pup can cost up to £5,000 to rescue, rehabilitate and release, if you would like to adopt a pup or make a donation towards a pup´s rehabilitation at Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary,
please Click here for more details.
|
|