Dung Beetle was rescued on 27th January 2025 The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) hotline team received a telephone call on the 27th of January 2025 from a member of the public who was concerned about a very young seal pup at Lamorna Cove. Alison and Zoe, the BDMLR area coordinators, arranged for local volunteer marine mammal medics to check on the seal.   George and Phil, two of the medics, headed down to assess the situation. When George and Phil arrived they were met by several locals watching the waves and keeping any passers-by away from the pup, pup was right at the top of the car park on the small wall above the gardens. George said "visual assessment, showed some blood around the tail and rear flippers, hard to see from a distance what was causing it, small patch of blood on the face, slightly skinny but not too small, breathing rate of 20/2.   Although sheltered and safe in the car park, there were occasional waves that sent a surge of water up the slip across the first part of the car park, so we bagged the pup and moved her up the car park for assessment to prevent any risk." Photo Credit : George Tyrone Deacon - BDMLR George continues "Our assessment found a temperature of 37.9°C, a few wounds to the rear flippers, one digit slightly swollen on right rear, front right flipper good grip, front left weaker but okay grip, with a small swelling and redness in the armpit area, mouth pale, eyes looked good, superficial scuffs on nose.   After talking to the area coordinator, Alison, and her discussions with Zoe, a decision was made to uplift the pup and transport her to the BDMLR seal hospital to allow further assessment and treatment." The 3-4 months old female grey seal pup named Dung Beetle. Photo Credit : George Tyrone Deacon - BDMLR This photo below was taken at the BDMLR´s hospital on 3rd February 2025 Update - 27th February 2025 : The pup was transferred to Gweek on the 26th of February 2025 where she will finish her rehabilitation journey. Dung Beetle on arrival at the Sanctuary was taken straight into the outside nursery pool 1 as she was big enough and had completed her treatment at the BDMLR hospital. Her flipper ID tag number SL327 (yellow). The pups in the nursery pools are going through the next stage of rehabilitation, this means Dung Beetle is on the road to recovery and also has a deeper pool to swim in. Pups in the nursery pools will be learning how to behave in the wild, interacting with other seals and also competing for their fish, which are all vital skills they will need when they are released back out into the wild. These photos were taken on the 27th of February 2025. Update - 15th March 2025 : These photos below of Dung were taken on 12th of March 2025 in the rehabilitation pool.   It will not be too long before she is returned to the wild. These photos below of Dung Beetle were taken in the rehab pool just before she was released back into the wild on 31st March 2025. Update - 31st March 2025 : Dung Beetle along with Leaf Cutter, Luis Woodlouse, Michael and Roach Bug have completed their rehabilitation and reached their ideal release weight of 30kg+.   They were released back into the wild on the 31st of March 2025. On the day of their release, Dung Beetle, Leaf Cutter, Michael and Roach Bug, were fitted with specialist GPS tracking equipment.   This innovative step will provide valuable insights into the pups´ movements and behaviours as they return to the sea.   The study, which is first of its kind in Southwest England, is part of the GPS tracking equipment for 15 grey seal pups of the 2024/25 rescue season being issued with the tags to examine their at-sea behaviour.   The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is working alongside Dr Luis Huckstadt, senior lecturer at the University of Exeter as he leads this exciting pilot study. Click here to see a selection of these and further photos of their release. Satellite tags update - 4th June 2025 : As you can see from the Satellite Nav tracking map...Dung Beetle has made it over to Southern Ireland..   Selkie has been adventurous around the English Channel up to Dover and Northern France.