Essex
seal pup rescue
27th August
I have just got back from a seal
pup rescue at Holland-on-Sea in Essex as below.
There I was enjoying a relaxing weight training session.........just
in the middle of a bench press when I got a call from Leon Woodrow
(Essex Assistant Coordinator) at 11:51 regarding a seal pup, phoned
in to the coastguard by some beach hut owners who thought that it
looked to be in trouble.
I arrived at Holland Haven (Holland
on Sea) to see the seal pup hauled out at the seaward end of one
of the concrete groynes.
The lady that had reported the pup said it had been there for over
an hour and a half and had been able to approach within about 10
foot of the pup.
Making a visual assessment of the pup it appeared to be slightly
under weight, had some bleeding on its nose, and becoming agitated
with the people around the groyne and on the beach.
As I approached the pup (slowly as the groyne was covered in lots
of seaweed and slippery) it slid into the water. The seal was obviously
fatigued as it made straight for the beach where it heard a couple
of dogs barking and struggled back onto the groyne again.
I made the decision that even although it appeared only to be a
little under weight it would need to be picked up, if not to be
rehydrated then to resite it away from the public.
I spoke to Leon who by now was on his way with Roger (Assistant
Nature Warden).
I let the seal rest for about 10 mins (had a cup of tea) and with
the help of the lady who reported it, ventured sheepishly out on
to the groyne.
The seal just laid there and
once we were within a couple of feet, let us throw the towel over
its head, once a firm grip was made we carried it back to the beach.
Leon was now on the prom where he assessed the temperature of the
seal which appeared to be a little high. 200ml of zoolyte was also
administered via tube by Leon.
As I write this Leon is on his
way and Faye Archell (Essex Coordinator) is hopefully trying to
get someone to meet him en-route for a transfer to East Winch (RSPCA
- Norfolk Wildlife Hospital) ..................right back to the
weights.
Andy Rutson-Edwards - Medic
Medics
fight to save stranded porpoise, Cornwall.
25th August 2005.
At 5pm on the 25th August, BDMLR Director Alan
Knight called West Cornwall Coordinator Dave Jarvis to inform him
of a live stranded dolphin at Penhale Sands, Perranporth. Dave,
who just happened to be in nearby Newquay, then called Medic Phil
Jarvis and myself. Phil gathered Medics Claire Baker and Rachael
Vine from the National Seal Sanctuary while I informed Coordinator
Tim Bain, called out some more Medics and arranged pickup of the
rescue trailer with Medics Caroline Curtis and Gary Hawkins.
Dave arrived at the
site and found a harbour porpoise being supported on the beach by
a team of lifeguards, who were keeping it wet. It was assessed to
be a 4ft female in moderate condition with no injuries beyond the
normal superficial cuts and scrapes, no obvious sign of illness
and a good rate of breathing, so a refloat attempt was made. The
porpoise swam out into the surf quite strongly, but then remained
close inshore for the next 20 minutes, allowing Phil and Claire
to arrive and prepare, and for contact with BDMLR Director and veterinarian
James Barnett to be established. After this it unfortunately restranded.
On advice from the lifeguards, the decision was made to load the
porpoise into the back of one of the lifeguard’s vehicles
for transport to a safer location at Perranporth, a mile down the
beach. En route, another vehicle picked up Tim, Lesley, Gary and
myself with the rescue equipment and joined the small convoy of
trucks that made their way to the new location, meeting up with
Rachael and Medic Sam Jarman.
The porpoise was unloaded
and allowed time to recover from the journey. Its breathing rate
remained within normal parameters and it remained fairly calm. First
aid and stabilisation measures were implemented, with a bed sheet
spread over the animal’s back to retain moisture and protect
it from the wind and sun, KY Jelly applied around the blowhole,
pectoral fin trenches dug and buckets of water continuously poured
over it. Medics were cycled frequently, giving everyone a chance
to work with the animal and to keep them active and warm. The responsibility
of ‘beachmaster’ was also regularly passed around. As
it is currently the height of the tourist season, the beach was
packed with holidaymakers, meaning that it didn’t take long
for word to get round. A large crowd of people soon gathered near
us and were kept informed of proceedings along with the numerous
members of the media that turned up throughout the incident. [click
map to enlarge]
At around 7:30pm a second reflotation attempt
was made using the specialist dolphin pontoon equipment set. It
was held in the water for a period of time before it was felt that
the porpoise should be given a chance to swim off. The pontoons
and mat were removed and the porpoise held by four Medics. Unfortunately,
despite the good outlook on the animal’s condition while on
the beach, it responded poorly, and in fact it refused to attempt
to swim on its own at all. Disappointed, the mat was replaced and
the porpoise brought ashore where first aid and stabilisation continued
as before. However, the porpoise’s condition was now beginning
to vary much more. It breathing rate was very slowly increasing,
it thrashed its tail on a couple of occasions and held its eyes
closed. To make matters worse, its breaths now became shallow and
weak, and minor convulsions were detected shortly afterward. The
deteriorating clinical health of the animal left us with no other
option but to euthanase. Medic Steve Wyatt, a veterinarian, was
contacted and agreed to come to the site to carry out the procedure.
At this point, the sun had set and darkness was very quickly closing
in. The headlights of a truck were used to illuminate the scene,
also serving as a ‘warming up’ station. However, the
lack of light did not deter some people from coming over to see
what was happening. Medic Jenny Haley, having just finished work,
now arrived at the site and helped with the continuation of administering
first aid. Steve Wyatt arrived with Medic Sarah Chittock and another
nurse and spoke with James Barnett on the phone. Barbiturates were
prepared in syringes to euthanase the animal, which had to be physically
restrained by Jenny, Phil, Claire, Tim, Rachael and myself, so Steve
could safely inject it into the porpoise’s tail fluke under
torchlight provided by Sarah. Within 15 minutes and after some minor
convulsing, the porpoise died. Time of death was approximately 9:30pm.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust Strandings Coordinator
Jan Loveridge was contacted and arrangements for Post Mortem examination
made. All that was left to do was to pack up the equipment and thank
everyone for a job well done.
We would like to thank the following for their
help and support during this incident:
Medics: Dave Jarvis
(Coordinator), Tim Bain (Coordinator), James Barnett (Director and
veterinarian), Steve Wyatt (veterinarian), Sarah Chittock and the
veterinary nurse, Phil Jarvis, Lesley Jarvis, Claire Baker, Sam
Jarman, Rachael Vine, Gary Hawkins, Jenny Haley and Dan Jarvis.
Public: Greg Spray
and his team of lifeguards for their help and invaluable use of
their vehicles for transport of porpoise, people and equipment;
and the news crews and members of the public for their interest,
support and understanding for the duration of the rescue attempt.
Medic Dan
Jarvis
BDMLR West Cornwall
(Newquay – Land’s End – St Austell)
Pup
rescue - Gardenstown, Scotland
August 25th 2005
BDMLR Montrose area Co-ordinator Elaine Roft
received a call from the CRRU team in Gardenstown to say that they
had uplifted a common seal pup with suspected pneumonia from Gardenstown
at 18.51hrs. An attempt to tube feed A VERY FIESTY pup resulted
in the vet - Cameron McPherson being bitten. With Cameron rushed
off to hospital, the CRRU team then transported the pup to Laurence
Brain of New Deer who was going to tube it before its journey to
SSPCA Middlebank at Inverkeithing. Meanwhile, Elaine Roft - BDMLR
Montrose had arranged second stage of relay from New Deer to Montrose
with the help of Linda Robertson ( BDMLR Fraserburgh team), Paul
Horne third stage of relay from Montrose to Dundee (BDMLR Montrose
team), and Don Wilson fourth stage of the relay from Dundee to Inverkeithing
(SSPCA Inspector). As Laurence was unable to accommodate the pup
at New Deer due to holidays, he was happy to administer rehydration
fluids prior to its long journey to Middlebank where a seal pen
had been booked for it.
The pup arrived at Laurence Brains at approximately
19.20hrs, with Linda Robertson arriving shortly afterwards. Sadly
the pup passed away upon arrival after stage 1 of the relay. It
is thought that as well as having suspected pneumonia, it was also
suffering from lungworm.
Many thanks to Kevin Robinson and his CRRU
Team, Vet Cameron McPherson, BDMLR Fraserburgh Co-ordinator Kenneth
McLennan and Medic Linda Robertson, BDMLR Montrose Co-ordinator
Elaine Roft and Medic Paul Horne, SSPCA Inspector Don Wilson. Vet
Laurence Brain, SSPCA Middlebank.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
Essex
Coordinator, Faye Archell, reports from her work at Mote Marine,
Florida
19th August
As you may know I'm currently
working at Mote Marine in Florida again this Summer. Here are a
couple of news articles on the cases we have been dealing with.
Red Tide is a huge problem this year and there have been record
numbers of sea turtle deaths aswell as numerous dolphins and manatees
being washed up dead. The Loggerhead turtles seem to be particularly
affected with none of the patients
admitted here surviving. It really is heartbreaking work but everyone
is detemined to find a treatment for Red Tide.
There's a nice video piece on the link of
a Turtle release last week.
1st
News Item
2nd
News Item
3rd
News Item
We are also treating two Risso's dolphins
named Bonnie and Clyde! They were a mass stranding of five. Sadly
three died at the stranding but these two seem to be doing well
now.
Risso's
News item
Cheers,
Faye Archell
- Essex BDMLR Coordinator
Japanese
Drive Fisheries Protest
The Marine Connection
are co-ordinating the London arm of an international protest against
the continued slaughter of dolphins during Japanese drive fisheries.
Every year more than 20,000 dolphins are brutally killed in this
hunt and also many captured for sale to marine parks worldwide.
We are asking all supporters of British Divers to join the protest
on Saturday 8 October 2005 at midday outside the Japanese Embassy
in London.
Full details available
on the Marine Connection website : CLICK
HERE
Grey
seal pup rescue season off to an early start in Cornwall.
18th August 2005.
Report by Dan Jarvis
- More/larger images on Image
Library
This evening we rescued
our first grey seal pup of the 2005/2006 season. The Seal Sanctuary
called Coordinator Dave Jarvis to say that a pup 
had
hauled out on a public beach at St Agnes, and was moving away from
the water.
Throwing the seal cage in the car, Dave and
Medics Lesley Jarvis and myself set off for the site, calling out
Medics Sue Sayer and Jim and Ida Moore on the way.
Arriving at the site,
we met the lifeguards watching over the pup, which was sitting right
at the bottom of the slipway under the lifeguard hut. It was fully
moulted, but extremely malnourished and dehydrated. We called Marianne
Fellows at the Seal Sanctuary, who agreed to meet us halfway with
Medic Phil Jarvis so it could be tubed vital fluids.
I jumped the pup while
Dave, Lesley and Sue got the cage into place. I estimated the pup
to weigh around 12kg and at 3 - 4 weeks old. The pup barely struggled,
and up until that point had been mostly unresponsive and unaware
of the people around it, which was not a good sign. The pup was
then taken up the hill to the car park and loaded up to be taken
away. For the first few minutes it stayed alert and was being a
bit noisy, but then became lethargic and unresponsive 
again,
making us all very concerned about the animal's condition.
Meeting at a pub car
park in Four Lanes, near Redruth, the cage was unloaded and Marianne
tube fed the pup fluids and also gave it some glucose. She confirmed
that it was a male of 3 weeks old.
At the Sanctuary we
met with Medic Rachael Vine, who also works there. A pen in the
Isolation area was prepared while the pup rested before being moved
in and given a clinical examination. Before this he was weighed
at 10.5kg - a very poor weight. Marianne, Phil and myself carried
out the examination, and found a few bite wounds to the flippers,
and another to the neck. His temperature was recorded at 37.5C,
which gave us cause for some relief. It was noticed that his breathing
had become ruckly as well. 'Mite' as he was now known, had his injuries
cleaned, was injected with antibiotics and tube fed more fluids.
After this, we tidied up and went home. Marianne
decided to return later in the evening to check on Mite's progress.
Thanks to all Medics who responded to this
call out, including Jim and Ida who probably arrived a few minutes
after we left the cove but rapid transportation to the Sanctuary
was essential. Thanks also to the St Agnes lifeguards who kept watch
over the pup until we arrived, kept people away from it and for
the use of their telephone line (no mobile signal in the cove).
Medic Dan
Jarvis
BDMLR West Cornwall
(Newquay – Land’s End – St Austell)
BDMLR
Cornwall Summer Events Roundup
16th August 2005.
Here in Cornwall, Medics have been busy promoting
BDMLR at various events over the last few weeks. These included
dolphin rescue demonstrations for groups of children at the Summer
School at Camborne Pool Redruth Learning Space; a guest lecture
on cetaceans and seals and also our regular public beach demonstrations,
which are also great opportunities for Medics to get involved and
brush up on those rescue skills.
As a result of our activities, we have introduced
many people to the world of marine conservation, some of whom are
now interested in becoming Medics themselves, and it has been extremely
encouraging for us to hear comments such as the rescue demonstrations
being ‘the best part of the holiday’, which makes it
that much more worthwhile. In fact we are being booked up for events
next summer already!
We still have one
event currently organised in Cornwall. On September 18th the National
Seal Sanctuary will be running a beach clean and activity day at
Gwithian, Hayle, as part of the national ‘Beachwatch’
event organised by the Marine Conservation Society. This starts
at 10am and the afternoon activities include a dolphin rescue demonstration
by BDMLR Medics – anybody interested in getting involved in
this event please contact Coordinator Dave Jarvis on tolroydave@aol.com.
We would like to thank the following for their help
and support at the events:
Medics: Dave Jarvis (West Cornwall Coordinator),
Tim Bain (West Cornwall Coordinator), Darryl Thorpe (South East
Cornwall Coordinator), Lesley, Phil and Dan Jarvis, Joan Thorpe,
Sue Sayer, Tamara Cooper, Rachael Vine, Jenny Linnel, Michelle Spillane-Smith,
Jenny Haley, Jo Hurley, Amanda Forman, Jason Birt, Emily Evans and
last but not least, Sue White at Head Office.
Anna David (Polzeath
Voluntary Marine Wildlife Group); Polzeath Surf Life Saving Club;
Joana Doyle (Cornwall Wildlife Trust); Alison Forward (Cornwall
Wildlife Trust); Carl Gilbert & staff at the Maenporth Beach
Café, Falmouth; Sandie & staff at the Camborne Pool Redruth
Learning Space; Portreath Surf Life Saving Club; and finally, all
the kids and adults that gave their support to us and took such
interest in our work.
Medic Dan
Jarvis
BDMLR West Cornwall
(Newquay – Land’s End – St Austell)
Mass
Stranding Exercise at Rye Harbour, East Sussex. 
14th August 2005
[ 27 large images
in 'Events & Fundraising' album of Image Library - thanks to
Paul Brown of REX FEATURES
Ltd ]
Sunday's Mass Stranding
exercise went well and a lot was learnt by all. The usual scenario
greeted medics when they arrived with three whales and two whale
carves on the sandy beach. Approximately 30 medics arrived to help
and had an action packed day. We'd like to thank Bob Archell for
driving all the way down from Essex with his Argocat to practice
and experiment with its use. It was good to practice using the machine
and to see what its limitation are. Although it was not able to
drag the pontoon and whale, it was able to provide effective transport
for a whale calf across the beach, with the help of an air bed and
the dolphin pontoons.
All the team leaders were dropped in the deep end somewhat as none
of them had had previous experience of a Mass Stranding and after
initial confusion at the start the teams worked well with just a
few minor hicups - which are to be expected and learnt from.
Tim
Reed (non BDMLR but local wildlife rescuer) was invited to be a
surprise "Pain in the bum" and the team leaders all handled
the situations well including real media (not medic) which arrived.
(He was Paul Brown a pro photographer who has kindly donated his
pics for BDMLR to use. See them on the Image Library. Tony)
Apart from a fit of the giggles, Jamie Henn played a brilliant medic
casualty but none of the medics would give him mouth to mouth for
some
reason!! Sharon Gisby was thought to be the most experience first-aider
on site and took charge of this incident. The argocat was used to
take him off the beach to a fake ambulance at the top of the beach.
Maz Mariott and Mark Gregory worked well co-ordinating the two teams
dealing with the two whales with their tails crossing over. A winch
and 
pontoon
tube were used to separate one whale from under another, this proved
much harder than expected but the gradient of the sand made life
difficult.
Third team leader Vanessa Hedley undertook a brilliant role as team
leader managing her remote group having to deal with an adult plus
two calves some distance from everyone else. this group also transported
one calf back to the females via the argocat and the other by pontoons
strapped to a boat, piloted by Geoff Hammock.
BDMLR vet James Barnett helped advise medics over the phone and
one whale was euthanased due to ill health.
Thanks also to Jason Carter and Brett Lewis for helping to supervise
two of the groups and helping to organise some of the problem scenarios.
Medics were frequently told what the breath rate was and had to
figure out why it was increasing or decreasing as well as dealing
with thrashing tails and more.
Pictures are arriving at the office and the best ones will appear
on the image library shortly. Thanks to everyone who helped with
the setting up, the organisation of the event and for the medics
for turning up in such good numbers and taking part in such good
spirit - it's never exactly like the real thing but at least it
gives us the opportunity to practice and make mistakes in order
to learn from experience. Well done everyone involved.
Trevor Weeks AMMM & Stephen Marsh AMMM BDMLR Sussex
MSE
De-briefing
A debriefing of the
Eastbourne Porpoise incident and the Mass Stranding will take place
at the BDMLR office in Uckfield on Thursday 1st September at 7.30pm.
Those actively involved in either stranding are welcome to attend,
but please e-mail me (trevor@iar.org.uk)
to say they are attending so we know how many people are coming.
Trevor Weeks
BDMLR Sussex
NE
busy day for seal pup rescues - 12th August
Thursday (11th) - Scarborough Sealife made
arrangements for a release of 3 Seals, now Very ready for release
back home, initially we intended to do the release further north
towards the Farne Islands but with unpredictable weather and sea
a decision was made to take them to Donna
Nook for release Thursday instead of Saturday.
Due to restriction on the firing range we had limited space and
had to make a swift ride onto the beach whilst the RAF pilots were
having a coffee break. Needless to say the release went without
mishap and Ouse, 1 of the 3, was so friendly he needed to go as
far from public view as possible, Donna Nook is a perfect location
for him.
I was just finishing work Friday in Hull when Igot a call from the
local RSPCA asking if we could assist them with 4 seals reported
by members of public all in different location's.
The first was on the beach above the rocks at Saltburn with an injury
to its flippers.
The second seal was in Filey Bay entangled in netting with its mum
around somewhere in Filey Bay.
The 3rd and 4th was reported near to Primrose Valley Holiday Cottages
at Filey, between Reighton and Filey some 5 mile stretch of beach.
First port of call was HELP! Sue White from the office thanks for
your valued help, as always.
Second call was to Lindsey at Scarborough Sealife Centre asking
what space they had ( None came the reply)! but willing to help
out wherever needed. Just when things seem to be taking place.
W hy do they always catch you on the road without your contact details.
Just got a new phone, typical, and the furthest seal was 80 miles
away.
Fortunately Bev (wife) and Ryan (Son) had met me at work not long
before and was now in the car behind, Bev headed towards Reighton
being the closest to us, Sue in the meantime was ringing Medics
in our area to see who could help at Saltburn and Filey We had made
arrangements for the seal trapped in Filey Bay firstly to be found
and a location given.
O n arrival at Reighton, Bev met up with Medics Gary and Karen then
made a hasty search of the beach and after nearly giving up came
across a couple who had been with the seal for sometime worried
because it was not in the water, and had seen other members of the
public dragging it back into the water and watched it come back
out a few times. The seal was OK and just in need of rest. The 4th
seal reported in this area turned out to be the same seal as Bev
found.
Sue had made contact with Medics Emma and her (volunteer) Dad or
grandfather I think, and Sam who lived approximately 20 miles away.
Sam arrived on scene and made the grueling journey down the cliff
path and found nothing untoward's, having no phone signal she then
came back to the top to report her sightings to Sue and myself finding
Emma arrived and willing to go and look a bit further with 2 people
made sense. After looking around they found a few seals swimming
but no sign of any injured seals and decided to make contact back
at the top. Thanks a million for your help, Saltburn is probably
one of the hardest area's to search and even more so to get a seal
back up to the top.
Filey Bay which is where I headed for, Richard Lindley an ex medic,
was in the area and willing to have a look around whilst I was travelling.
He jumped on a fisherman's boat was was willing to take Richard
around all the nets within the area and had seen the seal earlier
trapped in nets not long before a long search was done but nothing
was found.
A local having a license to shoot seals within the area of all 3
seals reported is very fragile to us locally and have some hard
decisions to make even when a healthy seal is found.
A BIG thanks to all those who helped out on Friday.
Simon Drayton
- BDMLR North East Coordinator
Common
Pup Rescue, St Cyrus, Scotland
12th August
Montrose BDMLR Volunteer
Jim Wilkins stumbled across a young common pup whilst walking his
dog "Jess" today at 10.45hrs.The pup which was on the
St Cyrus Nature Reserve was well above the high tide line amongst
the maram grass near to a tree. Volunteers Sue and Paul Horne arrived
on scene to assist Jim and to report back to area co-ordinator Elaine
Roft. Elaine along with Volunteer Willie Taylor arrived on the beach
at 11.08 hrs with the transportation tank, aided by SNH Reserve
Mnager Andy turner in his 4x4. By this time the pup had made its
way from the high tide line to mid tide line smack bang in the middle
of fishing nets. The tide was still a good way out at this time.
General health check on the 
young
common pup had it at an estimated 2.5ft in length. It was determined
as being a male with no umbilicus present. The right eye had either
a cataract or a corneal ulcer which was severely infected and weeping
a thick greenish discharge. Respiration was 14bpm which was probably
stress induced due to the number of people that had previously surrounded
the pup. There were no discharges from the ears but the neck was
distinct and the pelvis clearly visible. Estimated weight of the
pup named "Jerry" was in the region of 14 - 16kg. The
pup was uplifted from the beach, 70mls of zoolyte was administered,
the eyes were bathed to remove the discharge, and temperature reading
was normal at 37degrees. The transportation tank was lined with
a dampened towel and volunteers Paul Horne and Willie Taylor made
their way from Ferryden to Bridge of Earn (Perthshire) on the first
leg of the relay to SSPCA rehabilitation facilities at Middlebank
Inverkeithing after confirmation that a seal pen was available.
SSPCA Senior Inspector Steven Gray resumed the second leg of the
journey with the common pup expected to arrive at Middlebank at
approximately 17.00hrs.
Many thanks to BDMLR Volunteers Sue & Paul Horne,
Jim Wilkins, Willie Taylor. BDMLR Medic and area co-ordinator Elaine
Roft. SNH Reserve Manager Andy Turner. The "Big Man" for
the use of his garden. SSPCA Senior Inspector Steven Gray and SSPCA
Middlebank.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
Map of area - HERE
15th August - Update
"Jerry" - our rescued Common seal
pup from St Cyrus ID Number 1829 sadly died during the evening of
August 12th after its arrival to SSPCA Middlebank. Sandra Bonar
confirmed to Elaine Roft that the pup went downhill rapidly before
going into collapse. It is probable that there was severe underlying
infection. Staff at Middlebank monitored "Jerry" at regular
intervals upon his arrival and he collapsed late into the night.
Many thanks to SSPCA Middlebank for accommodating the pup despite
being full and for the attention given to it during its short spell
in rehabilitation.
Seal
pup rescue - Felixstowe, Suffolk
11th August
I was called out
by Leon at tea time (good timing!) - a report of a young seal stranded
on the beach at Felixstowe.
I arrived on site with my wife Gwen (Crowd control etc) about 7.20pm.
The seal was about 30m from the sea laying on shingle. I estimated
about 
4-6
weeks and underweight. Signs of fresh but superficial wounds to
the rear flippers. No other apparent injuries. Eyes and nose on
the dry side.
In conversation with onlookers the seal had stranded
about 3pm and had in between time been stoned by an adult male (sic)
who had also let his dog pester it. The RSPCA had been called about
3.30 but had not attended.
After consulting by phone with Leon it was decided to pick-up the
seal and Leon would transport it, after a rendezvous, to East Winch.
Many thanks to Adam (approx 16) who called the coastguard, resulting
in me attending, and for showing me where the seal was. Also to
Dean and Diane of Ipswich who kindly let me use their phone when
mine died.
Update : East Winch have named her Chipmunk and
she seems to be doing well and eating her fish soup.
Best regards,
Tony Wooderson
- BDMLR Medic
Video
Clips (WMV) of pup rescue by Tony & Gwen Wooderson
Small
(1.9Mb) - click HERE
Large
(6.3Mb) - click HERE
|
Seal
pup rescue - Kilnsea, Yorksire
9th August
Simon Drayton called me at 15.15 to
report a seal with a damaged eye and an injured flipper at Kilnsea.
Lisa attended with Andrew Gibson from Spurn Head Nature reserve
but was unable to find the seal at first. On a second look they
found the seal pup which is approx 4 weeks old with badly weeping
eye, but flipper looked ok. Neil spoke to Lindsay at the Sealife
Sanctuary and also to Simon Drayton and it was decided it was best
for the seal pup to come in for treatment. Neil and Lisa drove the
seal up to the Sanctuary and met Simon and Bev Drayton.
Sue
White - BDMLR HQ
Seal
pup rescue at Frinton-on-Sea, Essex
8th August
Called out today to common pup at Frinton.
On arrival pup was in sea being bashed against sea wall and rock
groyne, unfortunately could not do anything as tide was still rising.
Arranged to go back mid afternoon with Neil Saban and Clair Hooker,
we found pup on stretch of sand and Clair uplifted it (her first
one), I then tubed etc and good old Jim ( Jim Farr - RSPCA Inspector
) arranged transport and it is on its way to East Winch (RSPCA Wildlife
Hospital).Whilst Clair and Neil were getting pup, phone rang and
another was reported at Jaywick so after dealing with pup 1 three
medics dashed to Jaywick to find the healthiest looking pup in the
world being bothered by members of the public with cameras. We stood
around making disapproving noises and advised a couple of people
to leave it alone and eventually the crowd dispersed and we left
it to have a kip.
Leon
Woodrow - Essex Assistant Coordinator
NEWS
FROM SHETLAND NEWS AGENCY
7.8.05
SEAL
TRAP
A CALL has gone out
for information about seals being trapped around salmon farms in
Shetland after environmental activists found a device they believe
has been used for illegally catching and drowning marine mammals.
The eight feet long cage, designed like a
lobster creel, was discovered by Alan Knight, of British Divers
Marine Life Rescue, during a brief visit to the islands.
Last summer Mr Knight reported another Shetland
salmon farm to local police after two dead eider ducks were found
trapped in a monofilament gill net draped around a salmon cage,
at Dales Voe, near Lerwick.
Mr Knight said he
had returned to Shetland this year after hearing more reports of
specially made cages designed to trap and kill seals.
He dived around several
salmon farms in the islands, but the only device he found was out
of the water behind a derelict croft house, at another Dales Voe,
near Mossbank. Inside the cage were the remains of a black and a
white lamb, which had been unable to escape. [ click
image to enlarge ]
“What we found matches exactly the
description we were given of the seal traps. It is eight feet long,
five feet wide and four feet high. Once a seal is in the trap it
can’t get out, as these two poor sheep discovered. It must
have been a tortuous death for them,” Mr Knight said.
However the owner of the trap denied that
it was used for catching seals. He said the cage, which was lying
behind a derelict croft house, near Mossbank, was used to put the
by catch from his salmon farm.
“That had nothing
to do with seals whatsoever. We just had it for working with piltocks,”
Bobby Nicolson, of Ayre Salmon Farm Ltd, said. Mr
Nicolson said that during the salmon harvest, other species such
as saithe (known locally as piltocks), were often swimming in the
net. The cage was used to store the unwanted fish during the harvest.
He said he had held a licence to shoot rogue
seals around his salmon farm for the past seven or eight years.
“We never had a big problem with seals. We had one or two
but not a lot and we didn’t go out shooting seals for the
sake of shooting them. It was only if we had problems.”
But Mr Knight said the device was “a
perfect match” of the description he had been given. “We
were told about large traps like lobster pots which were baited
with fish and were big enough to hold several seals. This fits the
bill perfectly,” he said.
“But I have to say that it was out
of the water and none of the salmon farms we dived on had anything
like it around them. In fact very few cages had any fish in them
at all, which shows the state the industry must be in up there.
“The salmon cages that did have fish
in them were properly tensioned and one even had a raft of about
90 eider ducks on it, which shows they were doing it right.”
Shetland’s SSPCA
officer Ron Pattison said he had heard about seal traps being used
in Shetland and the one discovered matched the description he had
been given.
He called on anyone who knew about seal traps
or anything similar to get in touch with him or the local police.
“We are interested in hearing anything about this kind of
activity, if it is going on. Anyone can contact the police or myself
and any information will be treated confidentially.”
ends
Shetland
News Agency
2004 Report into 'anti-predator' nets around
salmon farm - images & video - HERE
Busy
few days for North East Coordinator
6th August
Wednesday 3rd
( map ref 1 )
After arriving home from Hull at 7pm on Wednesday, we received a
call from Kira the local ACO for the RSPCA, reporting a seal at
Saltwick Bay, Whitby on the rocks below the cliffs.
The seal was reported to be in distress, vomiting and coughing badly,
unable to make contact with any medics in the area myself and Bev
(Drayton) made our way to Whitby. On arrival we spent approx an
hour or so searching rocks and nearly giving up hope. However, on
our return back towards the cliff path leading back up to the camp
site, we came across a grey from late last year looking in not too
bad shape. After listening to its breathing and not happy about
some of the sounds it was making we decided, along with Scarborough
Sea Life, to take it to them 
for
a better examination. Arriving at Scarborough Sea Life at 11.30
Wednesday evening the seal was checked and found to have a broken
jaw and later had to be put to sleep.
Thursday 4th
( map ref 2 )
Our thanks to Barrie and Robin in there swift attempts to firstly
beat off the east coast traffic during an RTA on the coast road
and arriving in Scarborough in record time in bid to save the pup
from Paull near Hull which sadly later died in Scarborough Sea Life
centre. See report below.
Friday 5th
( map ref 3 )
After a 999 call was made to the coastguard at Bridlington from
a family on the beach at Filey reporting a small seal in distress,
I left work at Bridlington and made way to Filey. When I arrived,
the seal was a small Common weighing in at less than 8 Kilo, a reasonable
temperature but very lethargic and with little response (NW Seas
last few days). I was able to hold him down with 2 fingers and stroke
his head while he was closing his eyes. Rang Scarborough Sea Life
to make sure they could take him in. At 9:30 he arrived at Scarborough
and is now in their care having a well deserved rest.
Just as I was walking out of the seal hospital, work rang me saying
they had another 999 call reporting a seal 5 min from the station,
the description sounded like another tired seal but not in too bad
shape and ‘barking’ at local dog walkers and reasonably
lively. I made my way back to Bridlington were the Coastguard had
put a barrier with tape and fish boxes around the seal to keep people
away. The seal was fine and only resting and a quick check at 6am
today with no seal and clear beach.
Simon Drayton
- BDMLR NE Coordinator
Seal
pup rescue - Jaywick, Essex
4th August
Leon
Woodrow (Essex assistant coordinator) and medic Andy Rutson-Edwards
collected a Common seal pup from a member of the public who had
rescued it from the beach at Jaywick, Essex. (click HERE
for location) The pup is slightly underweight, has a damaged eye
and discharge from one ear. It was stomach tubed with fluids before
being transported to the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital at east Winch,
Norfolk by RSPCA Inspector Jim Farr.
Leon
Woodrow
Seal
pup rescue - Hull, Yorkshire
4th August
At 9.30am,
medic and ex-coordinator Rocky Clark received a call about a "tiny"
seal pup on the slipway at Hepworth Shipyard near Hull (click HERE
for map of area). Unable to attend himself he called BDMLR HQ and
local medics Barry Edgell and Robin Petch arrived at the shipyard
at 12.20pm.
The pup
was found to be very small, cold and underweight with an injury
to the right side of its mouth. Scarborough SeaLife Centre agreed
to take the pup and Barry and Robin set off. An RV with Simon &
Bev Drayton was planned as the pup needed to be given fluids during
the trip. Unfortunately an RTA slowed the teams' journey and when
they did meet with Simon & Bev the pup was still very cold and
also unable to be tubed due to the injury to its mouth.
At 2.00pm
they reached Scarborough SLC where the pup was found to be emaciated
and desperately cold even though it had been wrapped in towels for
the journey. It was given oral fluids and put on an intravenous
drip but sadly died soon after arriving at the SLC.
Many thanks for the fantastic
efforts of Barry and Robin.
Sue
White - BDMLR HQ
Pup
rescue - Rothesay, Isle of Bute
2nd August
I knew
that medic course 5 years ago wasn't a waste of time. Being a vet
on the west coast of Scotland and not possessing a wet suit, I've
never been on the on call list but did my first seal rescue today.
(map HERE).
7.9kg
Female grey pup was captured on steps in the Inner Harbour in Rothesay,
Isle of Bute, no mother in sight. Initial examination found her
to be severely underweight, dehydrated and stressed (very laboured
breathing). Treated immediately with antiobiotics, the pup was soon
on it's way to a rehabilitation centre. After a less than comfortable
journey in a cat basket on the MV Bute (well the sticker on the
door said no dogs, nothing about seals!), the pup was transferred
to a larger cage at Wemyss Bay in the care of wildlife sanctuary
staff.
6th August: Andy from
Hessilhead Wildlife Sanctuary, Beith Ayrshire, reports pup doing
well. It was found to have puncture wounds on the
flippers - possibly dog bites. She has been rehydrated and, although
not feeding herself yet, is happily taking sprats and rehydration
salts by hand and tube. Hessilhead also rescued a pup in very similar
condition from Ayr beach on 2nd of August. Both are doing well and
Andy hopes to release them in a few months time when they reach
the 35kg mark. Hessilhead have seen many seal pups injured in this
way over the years.
Catriona MacIntyre
MRCVS ( & medic )
Medics
called out to net entangled turtle, Cornwall.
1st August 2005
At about 10:00am, a call was received regarding
a large turtle caught in nets off Botallack, near Land’s End,
reported by a helicopter crew undertaking a survey from RNAS Culdrose.
Coordinators Dave Jarvis and Tim Bain with Medics Lesley Jarvis
gathered together some equipment whilst Sue White at Head Office
called out Medics Rory Goodall and Barry Andrew, with Phil Hazell
from Gulf Stream Scuba, to find the turtle. I was also called as
I was already out searching unsuccessfully for a net entangled seal
pup at Logan’s Rock, near Porthcurno on the other side of
Land’s End with Medic and veterinarian Richard Hillam aboard
the RIB belonging to Penzance BSAC Club. Landing at Lamorna, I left
the divers with instructions on what to do if they did happen across
the seal while out during the afternoon, and then called Dave to
get details of the turtle stranding.
Just before our arrival,
Rory called to say that he had found the turtle, and that, unfortunately,
it appeared to have been dead for a while, due to 
its
carapace beginning to bleach white. With the help of Lindsay from
the National Trust, we located the turtle floating at the surface
next to a buoy near Wheal Edward Zawn. Barry and Phil had also found
the turtle and managed to find a way down the cliffs at the far
side of the cove, and proceeded to swim out to it to give it a more
thorough check. Medic Martin Gaunt from Oscha Productions (who created
the ‘Marine Team’ video) also arrived at this point
with Jess. Barry and Phil found that apart from a strong smell,
most of the head was missing, and there was some damage to the flippers.
It was also obvious that carrying the turtle up the cliff would
be an impossible task. The incident now passed over to the Cornwall
Wildlife Trust Strandings Network. Barry and Phil returned to shore
and left the site, while Strandings Network Coordinator Jan Loveridge
organised a boat to bring the turtle in to a more accessible place.
While waiting for the RNLI inshore lifeboat from Sennen to arrive,
which was already out on an exercise in the area and kindly offered
their assistance, we were treated to some spectacular views of a
small basking shark feeding at the surface in the cove below us
that was then joined by a ‘bottling’ seal. At about
3pm the ILB duly arrived and the crew disentangled the body, whilst
the curious basking shark passed close by, and they then proceeded
to tow it back to Cape Cornwall.
About half an hour later, Dave, Lesley, Tim
and myself waded out on to the slipway at Cape Cornwall to meet
the ILB crew bringing the turtle carcass in. A huge crowd gathered
around, which required some control. Two of the ILB crew helped
us haul it further up the slipway on a tarpaulin that we positioned
underneath it. Fortunately, crowd control became less of a problem
when the smell started to spread, partly due to the extremely hot
atmosphere in the protected cove. We thanked the ILB crew, who then
headed home. Examining the carcass, the right foreflipper was missing
along with most of the head. Decomposition and scavenger damager
was also present on the remains of the head and missing limb, and
also on the rear right flipper and tail. The leatherback turtle
measured 1.65m from head to the tip of the shell, and was extremely
heavy. We measured and recorded the animal & liased with Jan
to arrange for transport to take the body for a Post Mortem. The
local fishermen and Cape Cornwall Slipway Association assisted us
by allowing the use of their boat winch to pull the carcass close
to the top of the steep slipway (a 45° angle in places!).
By 7pm, volunteers
Mick Dawton, Dr. Nick Tregenza, Jayne Herbert, Caroline Curtis,
Cathy Frost and Roger Driver had arrived with a trailer and 
land
rover to put the carcass in and tow up to the top of the hill to
the car park. Using the winch again, we moved the turtle across
the slipway so that it was positioned in line with the trailer.
Then, using ropes tied around the securing line already put in place
by the ILB crew, we all managed to pull the turtle bit by bit up
a makeshift ramp and finally into the trailer. The trailer was then
towed up the path, and hitched back on to Caroline’s car for
it to be taken to VLA Polwhele in Truro the next day for delivery
of the carcass. The incident was closed at 9pm, whereupon Tim, Dave,
Lesley and myself rehydrated ourselves in a local pub!
We would like to thank all the volunteers from
BDMLR and CWT who attended this incident, Terry George and the Sennen
RNLI ILB crew, Gulf Stream Scuba, Lindsay at the National Trust,
Strandings Network Coordinators Jan & Jeff Loveridge, Sue White
and Director Alan Knight at BDMLR Head Office, the fishermen and
Cape Cornwall Slipway Association at Cape Cornwall, Blue Reef Aquarium
in Newquay, Paul Riley of Head and Head Veterinary Surgeons, Brendan
Godley at Combined Universities in Cornwall and finally the residents
and tourists at Cape Cornwall for their assistance, understanding
and interest throughout. This is a great demonstration of the integrated
multi-agency network that has been built up in Cornwall over the
last couple of years, and proven to work extremely well in this
type of situation.
Medic Dan
Jarvis
BDMLR West Cornwall
(Newquay – Land’s End – St Austell)
Search
for net entangled seal, Logan’s Rock, Cornwall.
31st July 2005
Arriving home at 7pm from an all day fundraising
event at Maenporth Beach, Falmouth, Coordinator Dave Jarvis was
contacted by Director Mark Stevens about a grey seal pup that had
been reported entangled in net at Logan’s Rock, near Porthcurno,
Land’s End. Medics Lesley Jarvis and myself were already on
hand to get equipment sorted out and set off. We contacted Ian Ramsden
from a BSAC Club who had originally spotted the animal for a more
precise location and further details. The seal had been observed
hauled out at around 5pm on a ledge below Logan’s Rock, and
had monofilament net caught around its neck, head, mouth, and one
of its foreflippers. Medic and veterinarian Richard Hillam happened
to be out diving with the Club, and unsuccessfully tried to jump
the obviously weakened animal, which escaped into the water.
Due to the size of the area we needed to cover,
Medics Phil Jarvis and Chris Ellis, with Medics/Animal Care Team
members Tamara Cooper and Claire Baker from the National Seal Sanctuary
were also called out to join in the search. Arriving first, Coordinator
Tim Bain, Lesley and myself continued on to the site from the car
park, while Dave waited for the others to arrive to bring down the
seal cage and help search the area. During this time, we spotted
one seal, which unfortunately was not the one we wanted.
As the rest of the team arrived, we split into smaller
groups, with Tamara and Chris searching the western side of the
rock, Dave, Lesley and Tim looking further along the coast towards
Porthcurno, and Phil, Claire and myself taking on the eastern side
of the large rocky outcrop. By 9:30pm, there had still been no sign
of the seal pup, and with darkness descending; we had to call off
the search. We contacted Ian again, and he kindly offered us a place
on the BSAC RIB the following day to continue searching.
At 9:15am on August 1st, I arrived at Lamorna with
some rescue equipment, meeting the BSAC divers there, including
Medic Richard Hillam. Once the boat arrived from Penzance, we stowed
all the rescue and diving equipment on board, and set out for Logan’s
Rock. We had timed the trip out to coincide with low tide, meaning
that the maximum number of ledges would be exposed for the search.
Sadly, we were unable to locate the seal anywhere between Porthcurno
and Penberth Cove, encompassing Logan’s Rock – a 10km
stretch of the coast as the dive boat searches – and after
a call about a turtle caught in nets over at Botallack, we decided
to call off the search and return to Lamorna so that I could assist
with the new incident. I left the divers with instructions of what
to do and who to call in case they saw the seal again during their
afternoon dives in the area.
I would like to thank all Medics who attended this
incident for their efforts, and a very big thank you to Ian and
the rest of the BSAC team who helped with the search and for the
kind use of their boat.
Medic Dan
Jarvis
BDMLR West Cornwall
(Newquay – Land’s End – St Austell)
Teignmouth,
Devon, callout to large dolphin/whale/big fish.
31st July
I received
a call from Mark Stevens who was doing the after hours phone-sitting
at 10.40pm on Sunday, saying that the coastguard had a sighting
of a stranded ‘whale’ at Teignmouth on the beach. Apparently
there had been a little confusion as someone had also reported it
as being a big fish.
At this point panic
set in as Tony (Woodley) was away, I found out James Barnett was
in France for 2 weeks, the only call-outs I’d done were pup
watch and a happily feeding harbour porpoise at Brixham, I’d
not properly looked at the list of names for a while and this was
the first call-out I was supposed to manage! Yikes!! It was my very
good fortune that I hit upon the following people who were stars
in what they did, and the fact they hadn’t gone to bed or
were too inebriated to help out.
Dave Saunders in Brixham was the first and
nearest medic to get on-site, he also used his coast guard contacts
to get more detail on what and where we were supposed to be looking.
It was his report back to me from Teignmouth saying that the animal
couldn’t be found that stopped me from contacting more people.
If you weren’t contacted, I’m sorry but I decided there
was no point in disturbing any more for a probable no-show. Thanks
Dave for your prompt help.
I also contacted the
West Devon co-ordinator, Lissa Goodwin, for moral support and to
get a grip on whether I was doing the right things only to find
that she was Paignton helping a friend move. So after a brief rummage
around the house for wellies, torch and chocolate, she and friend
Emma joined the beach patrol. As coincidence would have it, Lissa
knew Teignmouth very well having spent 2 months solid doing research
on her undergraduate dissertation on the Teignmouth dolphins and
was a wealth of useful information.
Marion Hall from Jurassic
Coast Diving was also good enough to answer the phone and she
was fantastic in picking-up the trailer from Exmouth fire station
and organising 2 air cylinders for the pontoons. Luckily I’d
got the call from Dave saying the ‘whale’ had probably
refloated itself on the rising tide by then, so she and Martin didn’t
have to drive down with it but stayed on stand-by with the trailer
hitched and ready if it was needed.
Before I’d found
out James Barnett was having a well-earned break, I’d called
his mobile and he returned it at what must have been about 12.30am
for him! He was very helpful with suggesting other vets to contact
if we needed them and even called back to check how things were
going and again in the morning to see how things turned out. Mark
Stevens did the same, which I thought was nice considering he was
off on holiday today too.
Needless to say, after
the beaches in Teignmouth and Shaldon had been extensively walked,
we all called it a night around 1am and hoped not to find it beached
the next day further down the coast. Lissa went home via the coast
road and checked out Torquay beaches for ‘big fish’
and I did various stops up the river to search where I could.
I would also like to thank Teignmouth coastguard
for all the effort they put in. They had down searches with large
flashlights and parachute flares in trying to locate the stranded
animal and apparently were going to do a search along that bit of
coast in the morning, just in case.
All in all it was a very successful drill.
I learnt a lot in how badly prepared I was and how well volunteers
respond. Thank you to all for your dedication, help and support.
Sue Davie
- East Devon Coordinator
Seal
pup rescue - Holland-on-Sea, Essex
29th July
Leon Woodrow (Essex Assistant
Coordinator) and Medic Andy Rutson-Edwards rescued a Common pup
from the beach at Holland-on-Sea. It was very thin and was tubed
with fluids before being transported to East Winch (RSPCA) by Inspector
Jim Farr.
Leon
Woodrow - Essex Assistant Coordinator
Seal
freed from netting - Shetland
29 July, 2005
A YOUNG grey seal
is recovering from serious wounds after it was found with monofilament
net wrapped around its neck on Mousa this week.
RSPB warden Helen
Moncrieff was accompanying a group of about 60 tourists onto the
island when she spotted the injured seal on the beach.
“We went up
to it and it had this gill net, monofilament net, around its neck
and that was attached to a length of thick rope,” Ms Moncrieff
said. “It 
was
in a right mess. The netting had dug right into its neck.
“There were
all these folk coming off Tom Jamieson’s boat and they started
to crowd around so we had to get them to keep back.”
Ms Moncrieff, who
attended a marine mammal medic course in Shetland last year, managed
to free the net with the help of others and then carried it on a
Second World War stretcher to the boat.
She said she was horrified
at the damage done to the creature by the discarded piece of netting.
“We were all very angry about it. Every single fisherman and
salmon farmer is aware that you don’t just dump stuff into
the sea. Ignorance is not an excuse any more,” she said.
“It may not
have been a local boat, but people form their own opinions. It’s
certainly not a good advertisement for the local fishing industry
for 60 tourists to see something like this.”
Karen Hall, from Scottish
Natural Heritage, arranged for the seal to be taken to Hillswick
Wildlife Sanctuary where it is now recovering.
Jan Bevington, who
runs the sanctuary, said the seal is about nine months old and the
wound was about one inch deep. “It’s quite badly infected,
but the main thing is that the net is now off and the wound is starting
to heal,” she said.
A decision as to when
to release the seal will be taken in consultation with local SSPCA
officer Ron Patterson who has already visited the seal at the sanctuary.
Pete Bevington
- Shetland News Agency
FOR
THE LOVE OF A SEAL
by
Elaine Roft & Bob Pert
[ more/larger
images in 'seals' album of Image Library ]
Opal - a Grey seal bull has been resident to
the Montrose area now for 3 years frequenting the areas from the
Scottish Wildlife Trust to Johnshaven. He has never taken a Southerly
direction to feed during his time with us.
From the onset when I first met Opal, there
was an instant bond within. I was eating an Opal fruit at the time
I first observed him so thought it an appropriate name for him.
This was my first encounter with a bull seal in close proximity.
I had to be torn away from him!
During his time with
us Opal has become quite a character, with the locals at Ferryden
and Montrose beginning to recognise him. His best friend 
is
a Beagle named "Barney" and often the two would spend
hours at a time playing together in a location close to his territory
before he became poorly.
Robson and Partners (local vets) have been
called out to him to ease the public’s minds that this seal
is an "old dog". He poses no threat to fish stocks! and
simply wants to have peace and quiet to conserve what energy levels
he has and to enjoy resting knowing that he has guardians watching
over him.
With a love so deep for this seal (ask my husband!)
as I spend more time sleeping with the seal! I felt that we owed
him some sort of protection and company for the hours of enjoyment
he has given, not only to us, but to the countless holidaymakers
from the nearby caravan park, The locals and children of Ferryden,
Montrose and surrounding areas and to visitors in general who have
been enquiring about him. It was from this point that myself and
my dedicated team have been working tirelessly round the clock in
shifts, watching over him whilst he is hauled out to rest, at the
same time keeping well wishers updated on his progress.
We are in constant communications with our
vet regarding his health who has confirmed that although Opal is
poorly, he is not in any pain and at this stage feels that euthanasia
is not required. We are to continue monitoring him for the time
being. Our own BDMLR Vet James Barnett is also kept informed of
his progress.
I thank my dedicated team of Volunteers who
have engaged in nightly vigils alongside me (in particular) Willie
Taylor / Peter Taylor / Andy Dulley. Day shift Volunteers Jacque
Watt and Junior Observers Kayla Watt and Tamisha Watt. Volunteers
Sue and Paul Horne for continuing patrols and monitoring from the
river Estuary North - to St Cyrus along with Jim and Edna. To the
rest of my team for covering call-outs during this time and attending
talks (Rebecca and Thom), Iain and Leilagh Wallace for being on
standby and to my loyal Deputy Co-ordinator Bob Pert. Thanks also
to Robson and Partners (vets), The Big Man, all locals, holidaymakers
and well wishers. This seal needed you all............and you were
there for him........
GOD BLESS THE SEAL
THAT DOES NOT FORGET.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't meet Opal until recently, Elaine has always been full of
stories about this seal that plays with dogs in the surf and hauls
out and doesn't 
mind
her being near. She called one night, recently, to ask if I could
attend as Opal seemed in very poor condition and may need to be
euthanased. When I arrived Elaine was nowhere in sight, she had
gone to guide the vet to Opal's position. I approached Opal and
talked gently to him so as not to alarm him, he looked up as I sat
down and returned to his snooze almost immediately. As I talked
to him I happened to say "Opal" and he immediately lifted
his head as if to say "Yeah, what?". I thought "No
way did he recognise his name, he's a wild seal!". I continued
talking softly to him and said "Opal" again without stressing
it, he looked up again! This animal does know his name; I don't
think there is a wild seal anywhere else in the world that will
react to its name being said!
As you can see from the pictures, to the right, Opal no longer has
that "roundness" associated with these animals. He is
an old man who we would like to see die naturally; this is one seal
we will not allow to be shot!
Bob Pert
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Deputy Co-ordinator
