Michael was rescued on 17th January 2025
|
Michael, a 10 weeks old male grey seal pup, was rescued on the 17th of January 2025 from Lizard Point by Katherine, a member of the Animal Care Team.
The pup was found malnourished, underweight for his age with puncture wounds across his muzzle and rear flippers along with an ulcer in his left eye. He weighed 16.1kg.
This photo was taken a few days later on the 19th of January 2025 in the quiet isolation area of the hospital.
|
|
Update - 31st January 2025 : Michael is still in the isolation area of the hospital as there is no room in the main area at the moment, he just needs to put on a bit more weight before being moved to the outside nursery pools to continue his rehabilitation. He is making his bowl into a haul out rock!
|
Update - 12th February 2025 : Michael spent about a month in the hospital before he was moved down to the outside pool for his next stage of rehabilitation. This means he 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.
Michael´s flipper ID tag number is SL322 (yellow).
These photos below were taken on 11th of February 2025.
|
|
Update - 17th March 2025 : Michael is back in the hospital for a few days until he feels a bit better. Don´t worry he is getting lots of TLC from the animal care team.
|
|
Update - 24th March 2025 : Good news...Michael has completed his course of antibiotics and is now back in the outside rehabilitation pool.
|
|
These photos below of Michael were taken just before he was released back into the wild on 31st March 2025.
|
Update - 31st March 2025 : Michael along with Dung Beetle, Leaf Cutter, Luis Woodlouse 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.
|
Update - 5th May 2026 : Michael was seen along the coast of Cornwall on 5th May 2026.
Photos Credit : Constantine Morris - Seal Research Trust - Michael - 5th May 2026
|
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.
|
|
