Sheba - Resident Grey Seal
SHEBA is a partially sighted female in the convalescence pool. She was originally rescued, as a pup in the early 1970s, with nasty infections in both of her eyes.

Despite round the clock treatment to clear up the infections as quickly as possible, unfortunately Sheba had already lost the majority of her sight.

In the winter of 1977 two baby seals were born at the Sanctuary.   The mothers were Sheba and another resident seal, Jenny.   Sheba had her pup on Christmas Day in 1977 so it was named St Nicholas.   Click here to read more.
Sheba in 1977 with her Christmas Day pup
Sheba still tends to have minor eye problems during the annual moult, when stray fur can aggravate the seals eyes and also during the summer in the bright sunshine.
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Sheba gets on brilliantly with all the other seals in the pool and absolutely adores enrichment activities, especially ice blocks with fish frozen into them and playing with huge fronds of seaweed.
Click here to see a selection of photos of Sheba via flickr.
In 2023 the Animal Care Team celebrated Sheba´s 49th birthday (and another shout out to our cake-making queen, Polly, for another fabulous creation)! ??

Sheba was originally rescued as a pup in Cornwall in the mid-1970s.   She had nasty infections in both eyes which left her partially sighted; a problem which is exacerbated in bright sunshine or during the annual moult, when stray fur can aggravate her eyes.

Sheba is very social and playful; enjoying spending time with the other seals in the pool. She also adores enrichment activities - especially ice blocks or playing with huge fronds of seaweed!
Happy 49th Birthday Sheba
The Oldest Seal in the World celebrates her 50th!
Sheba, celebrated her 50th birthday on the 21st of September 2024, reaching an age beyond what seals in the wild typically get to and possibly making her the oldest seal in captivity in the world.

Sheba had a rough start...She was brought to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in 1974 after being rescued from a beach with a head injury and an eye infection.   She mostly recovered though because she partially lost her vision.   She could not be released back into the wild.   But she´s now outlived other animals that have come and gone from the Sanctuary and staff there says she´s become something of a favourite for the long time visitors.

A lot of people who are regulars at the Seal Sanctuary continued to watch her grow.   So it´s definitely something that a lot of people feel quite connected to Sheba reaching this age because they have visited throughout the years, they have seen her grow and change and be with different seals and behave in different ways and find new things that she likes to do.

Seals usually survive 25 to 30 years in the wild. Sheba´s longevity is thanks to the care that she has received over the years and advances in veterinary medicine.   Sheba celebrated her birthday with a triple layer ice and fish cake yummy.

Click here to read Sheba´s press release dated 18th September 2024.
Sheba 50th birthday
You can help support the work of The Cornish Seal Sanctuary as they care for their Residents and Rescued Seal Pups by joining the sponsorship scheme.

Click here for more information.

Each sponsorship makes a valuable contribution to the seal rescue programme, allowing the Sanctuary to provide continuing care for those seals and other marine mammals around our coasts that need our help and to look after those that are unable to be released back into the wild.
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