Flea was rescued on 16th December 2024 The Cornish Seal Sanctuary received a telephone call from a member of the public asking to help a seal pup alone on the beach at Polurrian on the 16th of December 2024.   Members of the animal care team were dispatched to check on the pup.   The pup was found very quiet, malnourished and underweight for her age with some bite wounds to its muzzle and an injury to her left eye. This 10-12 weeks old female grey seal pup has been named Flea was brought back to the Sanctuary´s hospital for care and treatment. On arrival at the seal hospital, the Sanctuary´s vet carried out an assessment and then prescribed a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Update - 31st December 2024 : Flea´s wounds have now healed but still receiving medicated eye drops.   Once her eye has healed, she will be allowed a swim in her hospital´s pen, hopefully it will not be too long! Photo below was taken on the 31st of December 2024 in hospital pen number 1. Update - 10th January 2025 : Flea is doing really well in the hospital and will soon be moved to the outside nursery pool to continue her rehabilitation.   She currently weighs 17.4kg. Flea´s flipper ID tag number is SL317 (yellow). These photos below were taken on 9th of January 2025. Update - 12th February 2025 : Flea spent about a month in the hospital before she was moved down to the outside pool for her next stage of rehabilitation.   This means she 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 below were taken on 11th of Februry 2025. Update - 27th February 2025 : Flea loves saying hello to the visitors through the underwater viewing windows! These photos below were taken on 27th of Februry 2025. Update - 12th March 2025 : Flea along with Selkie have completed their rehabilitation and reached their ideal release weight of 30kg+.   They were released back into the wild at Dollar Cove, Gunwalloe on the 12th of March 2025. A few days before the pups were released, each pup was 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. Update - 14th August 2025 : Flea was seen along the coast of Cornwall on 14th August 2025. © Photo Credit - Terence Thirlaway By monitoring the behaviour of seals after release back into the wild, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, 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.