You might have seen on some of the media platforms that holidaymakers, etc., are going up to seals in the wild. Seals are amazing creatures and can be fascinating to watch, but please follow this advice if you come across them or are just enjoying watching them in the wild.
- Be alert for seals anywhere around the coast.
- Never get close, feed, touch a seal or take a "seal selfie". If you hand feed seals, misjudge distances can lead to accidental bites. It can make us ill or seals may get hurt.
- Keep your dogs close to you - preferably on a lead.
- Enjoy special, privileged views of our iconic seals by using bincolars and/or zoom cameras.
- Aim to be at least 100+ metres away from seals. Always leave seals how you found them and leave quietly and carefully.
- Please role model and spread the word about best practice.
- Support local marine conservation by volunteering, emailng seal sightings, following their social media or donating.
These juvenile seals may look cute but they have sharp teeth and are probably coming out of the sea to get some rest, they will not want people disturbing them for "selfies" or people shouting and waving, please be considerate when observing them!
These photos were taken with a Nikon P1000 zoom camera.
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary shares its latest figures for the 2023-24 pup season - showcasing another busy winter with the team working hard to rescue, rehabilitate and release grey seal pups from around Cornwall´s coastline.
Highlighting the somewhat eye-watering cost of feeding the pups this season during their rehab, Curator Tamara Cooper comments "We have seen a total of 63 sick and injured pups coming through our doors this year, up 26% on last year; that´s a lot of mouths to feed!
As part of our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint here at the Sanctuary, and support the local economy, we make every effort to source fish for our seals from local suppliers. This season the cost of feeding our poorly pups came in at just over £21,500." Click here to read more.
Update - 10th July 2024 : The weather conditions in Cornwall were perfect to release Emilia Clarke who had been staying at the Sanctuary for the past few months was released back into the wild on the 10th of July 2024.
Emilia was at a good weight and fully recovered thanks to the care and expertise of the brilliant Animal Care Team. It is such an amazing feeling for the team to see her happily "galumphing" back home.
(c) Photo Credit - Lewis Jefferies - Photographer and Filmmaker
Click on the photos collage below or here to see a selection of amazing photos of the release.
Did you know...Grey seals are found on both sides of the North Atlantic, also on the West Coast off Canada, on the East Side of Iceland, the Faeroes, Northern Norway, North East Russia, in the Baltic Sea and off the British Isles. The British population - two thirds of the worlds population - is found principally off the Scottish Islands, Cornwall and the Scillies, the Pembrokeshire Islands, the Farne islands and the North and West coasts of Ireland. Favoured haul out sites include inaccessible islands, coves and caves.
Click here or on the image below to see a selection of the resident grey seals photos which were taken in July 2024.
Did you know...
The Common (Harbour) Seals (Phoca Vitulina) in the wild males may live up to 20 years old and females to 25 years old. In captivity males and females live slightly longer.
Click here to see a selection of the photos of the Resident Common Seals which were taken in July 2024.
Here is a short video of
Bo, Buddy and Jarvis recently enjoyed their pool parties with personalized fishy cakes.
Of course, Banana has also loved getting involved in the birthday Bo-nanza!
Meet Týr...the water-loving puffin who finds joy in the simplest of pleasures, like watching his food sink to the depths below. His playful antics remind us all to find joy in the little things.
Týr´s ID tag colours rings are blue and silver.
Týr was rescued in 2017 and rehabilitated at the Beluga Whale Sanctuary & Puffin Rescue Centre in Iceland. Unfortunately he cannot be released back into the wild due to various issues.
He was relocated to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in April 2024 to create space for the Iceland Sanctuary to continue their vital rehabilitation work.
Click here or on the image below to see a selection of photos of Týr and his friends. These photos were taken in July 2024.
We´re Grandparents!
The Seal Sanctuary are part of a collaborative rehabilitation project with the @beavertrust protecting this incredible species and making sure they have a future here in the UK.
The Sanctuary´s Secret Creek provides a nursery for beaver kits and a larger woodland area for growing beavers to find their feet (or paws) in the wild, before they move onto their forever home.
Are you #sharesavvy?
Here at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary we are supporting Battersea Park Children´s Zoo Share Savvy campaign!
The campaign aims to bring awareness and educate people on the effect that social media content can have on how we interact with wildlife.
Sharing harmful posts involving animal disturbance can have a detrimental impact on our marine environment.
Follow our simple flow chart to learn how YOU can protect our wildlife?? #sharesavvy
As part of their summer activities onsite, The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is excited to announce creative and educational workshops for children, focusing on the importance of marine conservation.
With creative workshops throughout the day, including seal pup rescue demonstrations and informative talks from the charity´s dedicated team, the sanctuary is hoping to inspire the next generation of ocean conservationists.
Alongside these activities, children can participate in The LEGO® Group´s "Build the Change" programme. Children will be able to learn about real life sustainability challenges creating their own ideas to protect Sea Turtles, building with LEGO® bricks.
Children will reflect on ways the changing climate threatens animals like sea turtles, then show their own brilliant ideas for protecting them, all while learning through play.
Starting on Thursday 25th July 2024, the event will run for six weeks, providing ample opportunity for families to participate.
Read More.
Each released seal pup is given a flipper tag with an unique ID number. This helps the Cornish Seal Sanctuary and the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT) to track and monitor where pups end up and how they are doing once they are back in the wild.
This month the following seals were spotted in the wild by members of the CSGRT from around the coast of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly:-
Turtle on 1st July 2024 Prudie on 6th, 11th, 13th, 17th and 18th July 2024 Whist on 7th July 2024 Orion on 8th, 15th and 18th July 2024 Petunia on 11th July 2024 Saffron on 14th and 26th July 2024 Star Anise on 18th July 2024 Guinness on 21st July 2024
The information regarding tagged seals seen in the wild is copyright of the CSGRT.
By monitoring the behaviour of seals after release back into the wild, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary and the CSGRT 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 CSGRT volunteers 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.
This news update has been put together by volunteers/supporters of the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
