Bonnie was rescued on 25th June 2016
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A week old seal pup with a broken lower jaw is recovering after a delicate life-saving operation.
Christened "Bonnie" by rescuers at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, the female common seal pup was found - seemingly abandoned - alongside another uninjured pup on Old Hunstanton beach.
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"It was not until we got her back to the Sanctuary for a detailed examination that we discovered her damaged jaw," said seal care expert Kieran Copeland.
"She probably got in the way of an unfriendly adult and got bitten on the chin," he said. "Hers is a particularly nasty injury, and one we´ve not come across before in many years of seal rescue, but we are hopeful she will make a full recovery."
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Experienced veterinary surgeon Chris Tansley from the Coastal Veterinary Group in Snettisham performed the delicate procedure to wire the broken pieces of her jaw to help them knit back together.
"I have seen similar injuries in cats, usually after they´ve had bad falls or been hit by a car, but this was the first time I´d come across it in a seal pup," said Chris.
Photo right Credit : Kieran Copeland
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"Luckily it was a single clean break and it took only about half an hour to wire the two sides together," he added.
"Provided the team at the Sanctuary can get her feeding well and building her strength then I am sure she will do well."
Bonnie is now under close observation in her own cublicle in the Sanctuary´s indoor hospital.
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"She is too young to eat whole fish yet and is being carefully tube-fed on a special formula fish soup," said Kieran. "It is still early days but we have been very encouraged by her progress so far."
Bonnie is just one of eleven rescued pups receiving care at the Sanctuary in what has been one of its busiest ever starts to the common seal breeding season.
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Update - 24th July 2016 : Bonnie is improving everyday and hopefully in a few weeks time, the vet will be able to remove the wire holding the pup´s jaw in place.
She currently weighs 12.95kgs.
Click here to see a larger version of this and a further photo of Bonnie taken on 23rd July 2016.
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Update - 4th September 2016 : Bonnie is now in the hospital´s swim pool with two other rescued seal pups named Jigglypuff and Ash. A few weeks ago, the vet removed the wire from her jaw and is looking much better now.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo of Bonnie taken on 3rd September 2016.
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Update - 20th October 2016 : Bonnie has sadly passed away; it is always very sad when one of the rescued pups dies but sometimes these little ones just don´t have enough anti-bodies and strength in them to pull through, despite the best efforts of all the staff at Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary.
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