Basil was rescued on 24th December 2020 Basil, a male grey seal pup, was rescued during Christmas Eve from Porthmeor beach in St Ives by marine mammal medics, Alison and Paul, from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). He was found malnourished and had an upset stomach so the decision was made to rescue him and get him on some treatment to get his weight up and get him feeling much brighter. Photo Credit : Alison Davey - BDMLR Update - 11th January 2021 : The pup was taken to one of the BDMLR´s holding facilities and stayed there until a pen became available at the Sanctuary´s seal hospital. Basil is now at the Sanctuary and recovering well. As you can see, he is still quite small but the Animal Care team will give him the care and treatment to build up his strength and weight so he´s nice and big ahead of his release back into the wild! Basil was sponsored by Charlotte who chose his wonderful name and kindly donated towards his care. Update - 27th January 2021 : Basil is now in the outside nursery pools for his next stage of rehabilitation and to learn how to compete for fish during feeding time. He currently weighs 21kgs. His flipper tag ID number is SL130 (green). Update : 2nd March 2021 - Basil, along with Chips, Poppadom, Sushi and Pilchard have completed their rehabilitation and the time came for them to be released from Dollar Cove on 1st March 2021. Click here to watch a short video of the seal release. Update - 9th April 2025 : Basil was spotted in the wild on 17th February 2022 in South Devon. © Photo Credit : Duncan Kenny - 17th February 2022 - The Seal Project 19th November 2022, 29th December 2022, 2nd January 2023, 4th January 2023 and 5th March 2023. © Photo Credit : Sarah Greenslade - 19th November 2022 - The Seal Project 1st May 2023, 16th December 2023, 26th January 2024, 3rd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 18th & 20th March 2024, 3rd & 5th April 2024, 1st December 2024, 11th January 2025, 22nd & 23rd February 2025, 5th & 9th April 2025 by Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT) and The Seal Project volunteers. © Photo Credit - James Savage - 1st May 2023 - CSGRT © Photo Credit - Sarah Greenslade - 11th January 2025 - The Seal Project By monitoring the behaviour of seals after release back into the wild, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, The Seal Project, Seal Research Trust and other organisations can use this information to define the best practice standards and policies that they can share with the international rescue community. Each seal´s fur pattern is unique and enables the organisations to track them for life.   Seals face many challenges, yet we all depend on them to balance our marine ecosystem, which is essential to make the oxygen we breathe.   Seals are our globally rare wildlife tourist attraction, helping diversify coastal economic prosperity.

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