Bananarama - Resident Grey Seal
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Bananarama, an 8 months old female grey seal pup, was rescued on 24th August 2018 from Trevellas Cove near St Agnes by Lizzi and Dan, members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) volunteer marine mammal medics.
This seal pup was found malnourished, suspected parasitic pneumonia, bite wounds to her flippers and scarred right eye from an old injury.
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Within a few days at the Seal Sanctuary, Bananarama was moved down from the hospital to the outside nursery pool on 31st August 2018 for her next stage of rehabilitation.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo.
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Bananarama enjoying looking at the visitors in the underwater viewing window in the nursery pool.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo.
Her flipper ID tag number is 300 (Red).
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Bananarama is now in the convalescent pool for her final stage of rehabilitation. Click here to see a larger version of this photo taken on 26th October 2018.
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Bananarama will be returned to the wild in the next month or so. In late November 2018 she currently weighs 40kg.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo taken on 24th November 2018.
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Bananarama was returned to the wild on 27th December 2018 at Porthtowan unfortunately later that day she came back in on the beach and was reported as being harassed and having kids climbing on her.
Photo credit: Lizzi Larbalestier (BDMLR)
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BDMLR medics were called so she was picked up and moved to another beach. But guess what the next morning, the medics got called again! Bananarama was being harassed again and not doing anything to move on! So Lizzi, BDMLR Medic, babysat her for a couple of hours keeping people away and then helped Zoe, a member of the Animal Care team at Gweek, cage Bananarama and she was back at Hotel Gweek on 30th December 2018!
Click here to see a larger version of this photo taken on 31st December 2018 in the hospital.
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Here is a photo of Bananarama in the convalescent pool,
Click here to see a larger version of this taken on 22nd November 2019.
Click here to watch a short video of Bananarama relaxing on her surf board on 22nd November 2019.
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If you´ve visited the Cornish Seal Sanctuary during 2023, you might have observed that Banana was kept in a separate pool away from her friends. Unfortunately, Banana was facing recurring seizures since February 2022 and the Sanctuary´s vets at both Head & Head and International Zoo Veterinary Group (IZVG) have been working really hard to find a suitable medication to prevent this from happening .
The team are so pleased to say that Banana has now been stable on her medication with no seizures for over 4 months, this has involved training her to have regular bloods taken and she has now been moved back into the pool with the common seals. The animal care team reunited her with her poolmates on the 26th of October 2023 and the boys have welcomed her back and Banana seems very happy.
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Update - January 2026 - Our lovely resident, Banana, was rescued as a pup in 2019 but could not be released back into the wild due to ongoing seizures. Over the years, the team have trailed various anti-seizures medications to help keep Banana´s seizures under control and had managed her seizures effectively, allowing her to enjoy life at the Sanctuary for several years. Unfortunately, over the past year her seizures have increase in frequency, meaning her current medication is no longer fully effective.
Following advice from the Sanctuary´s veterinary team, the team have started Banana on a new anti-seizure treatment, which can take up to 8 weeks to be fully effective. During this time, just before Banana was moved this photo (19th January 2026) was taken into common´s seals enclosure. This means Buddy, Bo and Jarvis have moved to her Rocky Shores home. Banana´s pool is being kept empty except for supervised paddles. Please be assured that the team is taking great care of Banana, monitoring her closely, and giving her plenty of toys and attention to keep her happy!
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You can help support the work of the Cornish Seal Sanctuary as they care for their Residents and Rescued Seal Pups by joining the Sponsorship Scheme.
Click here for more information.
Each Sponsorship makes a valuable contribution to the seal rescue programme, allowing the Sanctuary to provide continuing care for those seals and other marine mammals around our coasts that need our help and to look after those that are unable to be released back into the wild.
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