Pup Update - 27th May 2024 : The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) hotline received a telephone call on the 3rd of May 2024 from a concerned member of the public about a young seal pup laying alone on the slipway at Cape Cornwall.
The area coordinator arranged for local marine mammal medics to check on the seal. George, one of the medics, said "I arrived and found a sleeping seal on the slip, visually from a distance the seal looked okay, possibly slightly skinny. After discussing the pup with Lizzi, one of the area coodinators, we decided to monitor for a time. It was fairly busy at Cape but most people very understanding, some disturbance risk due to dogs off leads but the seal remained on the slip moving up as the tide came in. On the dropping tide the seal remained and continued to rest, about 3.30pm started to tentatively head for the water, we moved a little closer and noticed a very gunky looking mouth, so after discussing again with Lizzi, it was decided to carry out a full assessment.
Another marine medic arrived perfectly in time to help with the full assessment, which showed the weight at 16kg, a temperature 38.7c, and wounds on three of the flippers. The main concerns were her mouth, slightly swollen mainly on the left side, with gunk and blood present, and multiple ulcers visible."
George went on to say "After discussing with Lizzi again, it was decided a uplift the pup to the Seal Sanctuary in Gweek for some much needed care and rehabilitation. Pup was very quiet in the car and on arrival. Thanks to the team at Seal Sanctuary for staying on after finishing work to receive the pup."
The animal care specialist team have named this young seal pup, Emilia Clarke. She is currently in the hospital pen number 3.Emilia´s wounds are healing and she is eating fish for herself now. Also she is feeling so much better. In the next week or so, she will be moved down to the outside nursery pools. This photo below was taken on the 10th of May 2024. Since this photo was taken, Emilia has been moved down to the outside nursery pools for her next stage of rehabilitation.
The weather conditions in Cornwall were perfect to release some of the seal pups who had been staying at the Sanctuary for the past few months were released back into the wild on the 9th of May 2024.
Raven Symone, along with Margot Robbie, Lough Eske and Emma Stone, were all 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 them happily "galumphing" back home.
Keem Bay and River Dee were released back into the wild on 21st of May 2024. Good luck to all these seal pups!
Click here to watch a short video of their release.
Here is a short video of Jinx and Aayla being moved to their new temporary enclosure within the Sanctuary in late May 2024!
Click here to see a selection of the photos of the Resident Seals which were taken in May 2024.
Click here or on the image below to see a selection of the photos of the Paddock Animals which were taken in May 2024.
Click here or on the image below to see a selection of the photos of the start of the Grass Maze. This family clearly enjoyed following the paths, but soon it will look more like a real maze!
Mission complete!
On Saturday 11th of May 2024, eleven eager supporters (and one slightly reluctant Fundraising Manager, Leanne Attwood (photo below) took to the skies above Perranporth to skydive from 10,000 feet to raise money for our "Fund Our Future" project. What a day the team had, blue skies, bright sunshine and a group of the bravest seal lovers ever!
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary raised an AMAZING £5,027.62 towards the new seal pools, challenged our fears and got to experience the ultimate adrenalin rush!
A Big Thank You to the SEA LIFE TRUST Ambassador #AndyTorbet, along with Daniel Griffiths and Mikey Lovemore, who also came along to fly the flag for the Sanctuary, (quite literally!), and to the #cornishparachuteclub for hosting the event.
Did you join the Cornish Seal Sanctuary on Sunday the 19th of May 2024 for the "Sprint for Seals for 2024" Fun Run, Walk (or Flop) 3km around the beautiful Sanctuary, and raised money to help to support the "Fund Our Future" campaign to replace the Cornish Seal Sanctuary´s resident seal pools.
Meet Lundi (Lundi is Icelandic for Puffin), was named this month by one of the Sanctuary´s lovely supporters. He is the youngest of all his puffin pals and was found by staff from the Beluga Whale Sanctuary & Puffin Rescue Centre in Iceland covered in oil in 2022. Unfortunately, exposure to oil and potential chemicals caused damage to his preening which resulted in loss of waterproofing, meaning he cannot be released back into the wild.
He was relocated to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in April 2024 to create space for the Iceland Sanctuary to continue their vital rehabilitation work. Come and see Lundi and his friends at Puffin Island, the home for rescued puffins. Lundi´s ID tag colour ring is Orange and Black.
A beautiful sunny afternoon and the Puffins are enjoying their new home!
As the much-anticipated new season of the hit reality show "Love Island" is due to start, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary have their own share of romantic dramas and love triangles to contend with on Puffin Island!
Love Island is a globally popular reality dating show where singles come together in a tropical villa to find love and compete for a grand prize. The show is known for its dramatic twists and romantic escapades.
Read More.
This May (from 25th May to 2nd June 2024) we´ve gone potty over puffins...with a week packed full of puffin-themed activities, including puffin arts and crafts, animal rescue demonstrations, engaging talks, and feeding sessions. Search around the Sanctuary for the ten Icelandic rescue puffins, solve the clues and reveal the secret Puffin Patrol Password!
With an onsite café, playground, and scenic woodland walks, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary promises the perfect family day out.
Don´t miss out on seeing the final seal pups of our 2023-24 rescue season before they are released back into the wild.
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary are open every day from 10am-5pm.
Remember Dogs are always welcome!
Book tickets 2 days in advance online to receive 20% off.
The Sanctuary´s Site Manager, Sean, is championing "No Mow May" this spring at the Sanctuary. Together with the @wildflower_collective_cicwe´re doing our bit for biodiversity!
Let´s give nature a helping hand! Did you know that just one month of letting your lawn grow can make a big difference to the environment and local wildlife?
Freshly mowed lawns offer little to no benefits for wildlife and can actually harm them with pesticides and lack of floral resources. By reducing lawn mowing, we can create natural habitats that support biodiversity, including vital pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Plus, this small change helps tackle pollution, reduces heat extremes, and even locks away carbon underground. It´s a win-win for both nature and our communities! Let´s bring back a little wildness to our green spaces with #NoMowMay.
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:-
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.
