Northern
bottlenose whales stranding - Skegness
31st
August/1st September
Full
details - HERE
Seal
Rescue – Easington, East Yorkshire
20th
August
Another Sunday, another seal … does no-one
walk their dogs on any other day of the week? The call came through
just before noon and my daughter Catherine and I set off for the
coast. We know the beach at Easington pretty well so although the
details we had were fourth hand (member of the public contacted
RSPCA, who contacted BDMLR, who contacted our area coordinator who
contacted us) and lacking in detail, we were confident of finding
our way to the seal. “On the beach near the gas terminal”
gave us a direction to walk in, so we parked up and set off northwards.
Although it was fine and not too cold, there was a strong breeze
blowing in our faces and walking along the soft sand and shingle
wasn’t as easy as it looked, especially carrying all our stuff.
We soon left the anglers and dog-walkers behind and had just about
reached the start of the gas terminal complex with no sign of a
seal of any kind or size when we spotted a couple of dog-walkers
coming towards us so we went across and asked them if they’d
seen any sign of a seal : they pointed seawards and sure enough,
a few yards offshore bobbed a small dark head of a Common seal.
We thought that was that, but when I asked when it had gone back
into the sea they said some children had “helped” it
back into the water. Not good news! So we thanked them and they
went on their way and we settled down to watch the seal.
It soon became obvious that it was trying to make
its way back to the beach but was having difficulty swimming and
was just drifting along the shore with the waves. I spotted some
more dog walkers and went to head them off while Catherine kept
watching the seal – the dogs walkers were very obliging and
put their dogs on the lead and left the water’s edge to walk
along the beach well away from the water so as not to frighten the
seal off; another member of the public came along and asked if she
could sit with us to watch and together we waited patiently for
the seal to come ashore again. It soon became obvious that the seal
was very weak and as it reached the beach it had great difficulty
getting through the waves, which were really very small, and kept
getting rolled around by the ebb and flow of the waves. Eventually
it managed to beach itself and collapsed, seemingly exhausted, a
few inches beyond the edge of the waves. We waited to see if was
going to move further up the beach but although it struggled a few
more feet, it couldn’t make it up the slope though the shingle
and sand and just shuffled along parallel to the water before coming
to a halt again.
This was the point at which we decided to telephone
for advice. Great – once more, there was no phone signal!
So we had to make an executive decision, and really there was only
one way we could call it : we agreed that this was one which had
to be caught, assessed and if necessary, brought in. So Catherine,
being considerably younger and fitter, set off towards the water’s
edge to try and sneak up on the seal from behind. A healthier seal
would have been more alert and would have noticed her approach –
you can’t be stealthy on shingle! – but this one was
so exhausted that she was quite close before it realised and turned
to dive back into the sea. It didn’t take her long to pounce
with towel at the ready, and although she got pretty wet in the
process she secured its muzzle and tucked the seal under her arm
while I, and our spectator, hurried down with more towels and our
Ikea “seal bag” which had proved so useful last week.
Having lifted it a little way from the water, Catherine then checked
the seal over and even a cursory glance showed it to be seriously
thin although it didn’t have any obvious injuries. So, we
decided to put it in the bag and take it in, and to ring in as soon
as we had a phone signal. A couple of local fisherman (of the seal-friendly
type) made sympathetic noises and showed us a way up the cliff to
the easier walking of the cliff-top path and we made our way back
to the car and settled the seal in.
A few miles inland we picked up a phone signal again
and Catherine rang it in while I drove; we already knew that Scarborough
Seal Life Centre’s seal hospital was full so we asked Bev
Drayton (North-East coordinator) to make the necessary contacts
with the RSPCA and the local vet whilst we transported our patient.
An hour later we arrived at the surgery to find the vet waiting
for us; as we’d suspected, this little seal was even thinner
than last week’s and although around 2 feet long weighed in
at a mere 10 kg. Not only did she (this one’s a little girl!)
have a clearly visible neck and pelvis, you could feel her spine
and her ribs. The vet checked her over and found some minor injuries
to her mouth which were slightly infected but overall her health
appeared good, apart from her low weight and lack of energy. She
was quickly given antibiotics, painkillers and a multivitamin shot
and the vet took her off to start rehydration and tube feeding,
as he said she wasn’t ready to make the long journey to East
Winch. She is being kept at the surgery overnight and hopefully
the rest, rehydration and feeding will see her ready to travel on
for treatment and rehabilitation.
Monday 21st : this morning’s report on the
seal was good – she had been fed several times and was enjoying
a swim in the hydrotherapy pool! All being well transport-wise,
she will be making the long journey to East Winch tomorrow (Tuesday)
Catherine and I would like to express our thanks
to the members of the public on the beach at Easington and especially
to the Swanbridge Veterinary practice for their support, to the
RSPCA for taking her for rehabilitation and once again to Bev as
our coordinator.
Dianne Davies
- BDMLR volunteer & Marine Mammal Medic
REPORT
OF 2 x DOLPHINS CAUGHT IN NETTING - Folkestone, Kent
19th
August
I was called by Tony Woodley at approx 11.35am today
with reports of 2 dolphins caught in nets at Folkestone.
Tony then called medics I suggested to him, while
I headed down from Maidstone. Whilst driving I contacted Mark Stevens,
who was arranging to get the disentanglement kit from HQ brought
up.
Meanwhile after I called ‘Gary the Padi Hammer’
for assistance with getting medics waterborn, he had made arrangements
for his friend Adam to be at hand if required to get us out to the
sighting area (allegidly some 100-150m offshore)
On arrival at Folkestone
Leas (12.18pm), the Coastguard was already on scene and I assesed
and reported back the situation. 
Dave
was swimming around feeding, yet there was still the issue of this
second dolphin/porpoise?
Members of the public
confirmed the second sighting. Meanwhile Dave still swam happily,
albeit at times it was clearly visible that something was attached
to him. But then on the next sighting, it was gone. [See
image © Max Hess – click to enlarge]
The Coastguard meanwhile made arrangements with
RNLI to scramble a RIB to assist BDMLR with our medics who were
preparing kit and being briefed by myself on what the plan was.
The RIB first came into Dave's Bay, where he was
still feeding and swimming about, one crew member came ashore and
I informed him about our plans.
This bascially involved the RNLI RIB to gentle persuade Dave out
of the bay he was in so that we could assess if he was actually
tangled up in nets or not (so he could move more than say 100m from
that spot). He was moving about within the bay but not a great distance.
To be sure he wasnt tangled on anything we needed to make sure he
could move out of the bay area into waters further out.
The RNLI then relocated to the Old Harbour to allow
our medics to board their RIB safely. The Coastguard took Alex Levine,
Michelle Spain and Lynn Sencicle (all MMM's) round to meet them
(1.05pm).
The RNLI RIB now in the bay, it was confirmed from
the RIB crew (1.50pm) that there were TWO dolphins. Dave still being
Dave in the bay and the second approx 150-200m to the west at the
end of a double groyne.
At this point Neil Horlock and Mark Stevens were kitted up in snorkling
gear and went out to assist in locating this second mammal. After
a fair time in the sea, there was NO sighting from Neil and Mark,
yet there were confirmed sightings from the RIB. A definite NOT
DAVE, but another with a very odd shaped dorsal, possibly a damaged
dorsal, bent over etc.
Regardless of constant searching for this mammal,
and leaving Dave to happily swim without disruption that we did
have planned, the search was called off (approx 3pm).
Dave had been covering a larger area within the bay, which alleviated
our concerns of him being tangled on something.
As I type ‘Gary the Hammer’ is onsite
with observations, and medics are planned for tomorrow to keep look
out.
I can confirm that Dave has had kelp/seaweed attached
to his dorsal, thanks to Max's images. Thanks Max.
I would like to thank all involved.
HM Coastguard team - John and Don.
RNLI RIB Crew
Local Police patrol car crew- for sitting there looking good
And a of course our BDMLR medics......
Alex Levine, Michelle Spain, Lynn Sencicle, Rachel Cowin, Neil and
Sarah Horlock (and kids), Mark Stevens and ‘Gary the Padi
Hammer’ for getting Adam on standby and getting there this
evening.
Also the surprise appearance of Gavin Parsons and
Faye Archell.
Thanks to Tony for
getting my medics alerted for me and then with his family on the
transporting of the disentanglement kit from HQ, even though he
was stood down! At least you learnt some new roads in the SE mate.
LAST UPDATE:
7.15pm from Gary... over 40 minutes and 1.5-2miles no other sightings
of a second mammal, only Dave. Thanks Gary!
Jason Carter
Kent Area Coordinator - BDMLR
Aldeburgh
Seal Rescue
13th
August
About
7.10pm I received a call from Mark, a local resident, saying there
was a seal pup on the beach at Aldeburgh (Suffolk) which was giving
them cause for concern. It had been there a couple of hours and
was hardly moving and not apparently using its nearside flipper.
He was concerned also because there were several people around.
He had already called the RSPCA who had ‘declined’ to
attend.
I set off from home
with Jamie (son-in-law & Medic) and arrived at Aldeburgh about
7.50. We quickly found Mark who directed us to the seal which turned
out to be a common pup we estimated 2-3 weeks old. It was clearly
undernourished with a distinctive neck and waist.
[click on image to enlarge. Photo by Bruce Robson]
I decided we should take it to East Winch so bagged
it and after a quick confirmatory call to Tony Woodley, to ensure
East Winch would accept it, off we went.
On arrival at the weigh-in, ‘Triv’,
as he was named (the name-theme this year being Board Games) was
found to be 10.5 kg, and 91cm in length. They estimated age at 2
weeks.
Tony Wooderson
- BDMLR Suffolk Coordinator
Seal
Pup Rescue – Cruden Bay, Buchan
13th August
At 1640 Tony Woodley (BDMLR Director)
contacted Andy Ireland (BDMLR Buchan Coordinator) to advise him
that a member of the public had called the strandings hotline to
report that they had uplifted a stranded seal from the beach and
had placed it in a box wrapped in a jacket.
Andy contacted the group at 1645 to see if anyone was available
to attend and I replied to advise that I could be onsite within
30 minutes.
Andy arranged for me to collect the
seal kennel from the BDMLR equipment store and then head to the
pup.
Whilst all of this was ongoing, Andy contacted the Montrose team
to arrange a relay to Middlebank as Lawrence at New Deer is currently
unable to take any additional pups. Willie in Montrose contacted
his team and arranged that the handover was to take place at Stonehaven.
At around
1720 I arrived on scene at the white bridge in Cruden Bay, I was
met by a few members of the public. They said 
that
they had found the pup on the beach and had placed it in a jacket
and carried it off the beach and had placed it in a fish box until
someone could attend. I carried out a few observations of the pup
and it was very unresponsive and weak, this may have been due to
the recent storms that had taken place and the pup had taken a bit
of a battering. Due to the pup being removed from the beach by the
member of the public, we knew that we didn’t have much of
an option but go with the option of rehab. I contacted Andy and
he agreed that this was the course of action that should be taken,
with a relay in place the seal was to be taken to SSPCA Middlebank.
I got the kennel from the back of the car and placed two towels
in the bottom of it. Our pup was laid to rest in the kennel and
didn’t even put up a struggle. The two gentlemen helped carry
the kennel to my car.
I set off from Cruden Bay to Stonehaven where the handover was to
take place. We kept the windows open to allow fresh, cool air to
circulate around the pup and made two short stops on the way to
give the pup a break from the journey and us a chance to check how
he was doing.
I arrived at Stonehaven at 1845 where
I was met by Montrose team Medic Peter Taylor and Volunteer Driver
Norman Mundie. I handed the pup over to them where they would take
the pup on the next part of the journey.
Peter and Norman passed the pup on to Montrose Deputy Coordinator
Bob Pert and Medic Allan Muir who took him the rest of the way to
SSPCA Middlebank in Dunfermline.
The pup arrived at Middlebank at 2030 and was given a reference
number of ‘1727’ and named ‘Audi’ (following
their car theme). Audi was indeed a male and on arrival he was re-hydrated
and weighed in at 9.2kg.
Glad to see that our first pup of the
season has had a successful outcome. Thanks should go to Tony Woodley
(BDMLR Director), Andy Ireland (Buchan Coordinator), Stacey Esson
(Buchan Medic), Willie Taylor, Peter Taylor, Allan Muir (Montrose
Medics), Norman Mundie (Montrose Driver), Bob Pert (Montrose Deputy
Coordinator), Elaine Roft (Montrose Coordinator), SSPCA Middlebank
and the members of public that contacted BDMLR about Audi.
Stacey
Esson Marine Mammal Medic – Buchan BDMLR
Andy Ireland British Divers Marine Life Rescue
- Buchan Area Co-ordinator
Pics
at SSPCA Middlebank by Bob Pert BDMLR (click to enlarge)
|
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Seal
rescue – Tunstall, East Yorkshire
Sunday
August 13th 2006
[click
on images to enlarge]
The initial call came through around 10.30 a.m.
and, it being Sunday morning, available medics were hard to find!
Dean Robson was the first to respond and first on the scene and
discovered that, far from having to go and find the seal, it was
surrounded by people and dogs so his first priority was to persuade
them to step back, give the poor thing a bit of space and let him
get on with his job! He also put out a call for assistance and my
daughter Catherine and I started to collect together an improvised
‘seal kit’ and went out to join him.
Mobile phone reception
on the Holderness coast is notoriously poor so we had to communicate
through Alan Stewart, the Hull 
Area
Organiser, and eventually met up with Dean on a cold and windy beach,
where he was standing solitary guard over the seal as the initial
crowd, having got cold and bored, had dispersed. The seal was just
below the high tide line and it was low tide, which was just as
well as the wind was still gale force and the seas were very high
with surf pounding the beach. It proved to be a young Common seal,
about two feet long, and was thin, with a visible neck and pelvis,
and very ‘flat.’ It made no attempt to escape and initial
examination showed its muzzle to be swollen at one (right) side
and it had blood all around its mouth, with a sore or abscess on
its chin. Dean had heard it coughing and sneezing and its breathing
was visibly laboured, so we made the decision to take it in. We
contacted Alan (we had found that there was a weak signal at the
top of the slipway) and he put in motion the chain of contacts for
the Swanbridge vets and the RSPCA, having already established that
there was ‘no room at the inn’ at Scarborough Sea Life
Centre for our patient.
The seal proved easy
to capture and although it did make one attempt to bite it was quickly
overpowered and transported in our improvised “seal bag”
(which looked suspiciously like a big blue Ikea bag – ideal
for this job but I don’t think it would have contained a feisty,
bigger seal for long!) It did manage to escape from the bag while
in the car but was then content to just lie 
there,
sneezing at intervals.
Alan met us at the surgery and the seal was weighed
(a mere 11 kg – a long way below its ideal weight) and admitted
by the vet. nurses, the vet himself being away on another emergency
call. Dean, having been the first on the scene, had the honour of
naming the seal : Lewis (to be changed to Louise should our initial
sexing prove to be wrong!) We then settled him into a cage to await
the vet for assessment, treatment and an overnight stay, ready for
transportation to East Winch the following morning. Meanwhile, Bev
had finally been reached and seemed both pleased and relieved that
everything had gone according to plan!
Monday 14th : the seal has been assessed, had initial
treatment and declared fit to travel, so Adele (another local Medic)
offered to transport it to Grimsby from where it was collected by
the RSPCA for transport onwards.
Many thanks to all involved : Dean, Catherine, Alan,
Bev and Adele, and congratulations to Dean for his first rescue!
Dianne Davies
- BDMLR volunteer & Marine Mammal Medic
Photos by Dean Robson & Dianne Davies
Common
Seal Pup Rescue For Montrose Team
11th
August
[click
on images to enlarge]
A common
seal pup was observed today at 12.25 hrs by Medic Elaine Roft from
a distance of approximately 120yrds, which was basking with 4 adult
seals. The pup and the adults took to the water on the flow tide
and there were no causes for concern when observed. At 15.30hrs,
Elaine received a call from a concerned member of the public (who
wishes to remain anonymous) saying that they had encountered a seal
pup which was on the high tide line and appeared to be in distress.
The caller agreed to stay at the scene, keeping his distance until
a response team could be organised. Medics Elaine Roft and Willie
Taylor
accompanied by Volunteers John Roft and Mandy Taylor arrived at
the locus at 16.00 hrs. By this time, the pup had now made its way
back to the surfline and was cradled amongst rocks. On seeing our
approach it made a beeline for the sea, but stopped on reaching
the breaking waves. The team were asked to move back to observe
its reactions. The pup immediately turned round and moved away heading
out of the surf clearly not wanting to leave the retreat which it
had found. Elaine (ill equipped as she had been working) grabbed
a fleece jacket, approached the pup in the surf as it was heading
back up the beach and straddled it. The fleece was then wrapped
around it and it was carried gently up the beach away from the flow
tide which was now in at its fullest. A basic health check found
the pup to be a male (named Henry), which was bright, active and
alert. [Paul and Mandy on the beach with the
pup whilst Elaine prepared the tank]
There
were no discharges from the eyes, ears nose or genital areas and
the eyes were clear and rounded. It did however have visible neck,
pelvis and ribs. Respiration fluctuated drastically over a period
of an hour (from first arriving on scene, until leaving the beach).
This varied from 15bpm, 12bpm, 5bpm to 13bpm at which it remained.
BDMLR Consulting vet Cameron McPherson was called, who advised getting
the pup to rehab and eliminating administration of fluids (which
Elaine did not have with her) to save time given that the pup was
still active, bright and alert. As Laurence Brain (Grampian Wildlife
Trust) could
not accommodate our pup due to holidays, a pen was booked at SSPCA
Facilities at Middlebank, Inverkeithing. It transpires that this
was the same common pup monitored by new Medics Willie Taylor and
Rab Quinn (named Suzi) earlier in the week, which saw the Medics
keeping vigil until high tide when it took to the sea and joined
an adult - presumably mum.
[ "Henry"
in the transportation tank after we were caught in a sandstorm!
]
The pup
measured approximately 2.5ft - 3ft in length and was not dependant
on mum despite it being with a group of adults. Medic Paul Horne
accompanied by Volunteer Mandy Taylor started transportation to
rehab at 17.15hrs. On arrival at Middlebank at approximately 19.15
hrs, "Henry" was renamed "Morris" - themed name
being cars and was given reference number 1704. He weighed a pitiful
10.08kg (drastic decline in weight from when it was first observed
on Wednesday) and was left to settle for a while before being given
rehydration fluids. Whilst some medics were a little saddened that
this pup was now going to rehab and away from the adults it hauled
out with, reassurance was gained from knowing that it will be given
that extra "boost" in life at rehab. Sadly the pup was
in an area, where, had it moved further North or South from its
current location it may have succumbed to death due to many factors
involved. Many thanks to The member of the public for reporting
it to us, Tam and Susan (Angus Council Employees), Medics Elaine
Roft, Willie Taylor, Paul Horne. Volunteers John Roft, Mandy Taylor.
Fraserburgh Co-ordinator Andy Ireland (relay offer had it been going
to GWT), SSPCA Middlebank. Thanks to BDMLR Consulting vet Cameron
McPherson.
Elaine
Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue - Montrose/Arbroath Area Co-ordinator
Busy
Day for Scottish Medics 
3rd/4th August
03/08/06
10.00hrs - The team were notified of a seal pup hauled out within
our patrol area. Medics Willie Taylor and Rab Quinn responded to
the call reporting back that the pup was a common approx 1.5ft in
length and still dependant on its mother and that it had been chased
into the sea by a dog. 12.00hrs we are notified again that the pup
is now further South within our patrol area and is an incredible
distance away from the sea in a very unusual place! (location withheld
in a bid to keep these seals from harm). Medics Willie Taylor and
Rab Quinn assisted by Sue and Paul Horne kept vigil within the area,
keeping the pup safe until the flow tide which was due in at 16.35hrs,
and noting whilst keeping watch over the pup that its mother was
present within the area. We are happy to report that the pup named
(Suzi) rejoined its mother at 16.45hrs of its own 
accord
once the tide had turned. Whilst making their way off the beach,
the Medics came across an injured fledgling guillemot, which they
were able to retrieve for taking to The Grampian Wildlife Rescue
Trust. Thanks to Medics Willie Taylor, Rab Quinn, Sue Horne, Paul
Horne, SSPCA Inspector Mark Lumgair, SSPCA Controls Edinburgh and
Aberdeenshire for liaising with us and to David and Suzi Jones for
notifying us of the pups whereabouts, and to BDMLR Co-ordinator
Elaine Roft for communications throughout. Meantime, whilst all
the above was happening, Medic Jacque Watt had responded to 2 calls
between 17.00 – 19.00hrs to 2 injured herring gulls at different
locations. Both were uplifted by Jacque and taken to overnight facilities
to join the rescued guillemot fledgling that was retrieved earlier
in the day.(See pictures below))
22.00hrs – 02.30hrs Elaine received a call from Aberdeenshire
Co-ordinator Nick Duthie to say that members of the public had called
him in relation to an adult seal within our patrol area that was
requiring help after finding itself in a “predicament”.
A response team of Medics consisting of Elaine Roft, Bob Pert, Rab
Quinn, Willie Taylor, Peter Taylor and volunteers John Roft and
Norman Mundie made their way to the scene. Because of the nature
of the rescue operation involved, which was going to take some time
into the early hours of the morning, local Wildlife Liaison Officer
and Tayside Police Central Control were informed of our whereabouts
and the nature of the rescue involved which was given authorisation
by both WLO Alan Stewart and Sgt McInally. Drew from Central Control
was updated on the situation at regular intervals due to the risk
levels to the Medics from the fading light, the nature of the rescue,
and the fact that mobile signals were of poor reception. The issue
involving the adult seal was resolved at approximately 02.00hrs
with the Medics departing from the scene at 02.30hrs. Due to 
the
nature of this call, location and trauma to seal have been withheld.
Thanks to Medics Elaine Roft, Bob Pert, Willie Taylor, Peter Taylor,
Rab Quinn, and Volunteers John Roft and Norman Mundie. Wildlife
Liaison Officer Alan Stewart, Tayside Police Central Control (Drew),
Aberdeenshire Co-ordinator Nick Duthie, BDMLR Director Alan Knight.
(Medics pictured left to right, Bob Pert, Willie Taylor, Peter Taylor,
Rab Quinn, Elaine Roft) absent from picture Norman Mundie and John
Roft) Taken at 02.30hrs after the rescue mission was resolved
04/08/06
10.30hrs After a successful night in temporary accommodation, all
3 rescued birds were uplifted from their pens and relayed by Medic
Willie Taylor and Volunteer Norman Mundie to Bridge of Don. The
second stage of the relay to Grampian Wildlife Trust was taken over
by Fraserburgh Volunteer Elaine Helyer. The birds arrived at The
Grampian Wildlife Trust at 12.30hrs where they were received by
the Veterinary staff.
17.00hrs Elaine received
a call from Veterinary Surgeon Laurence Brain (Grampian Wildlife
Trust) saying that sadly, the guillemot fledgling was pronounced
dead on arrival and the 2 herring gulls had to be euthanased after
examination. Laurence expressed his concerns to Elaine and said
that all the birds were at the time of uplift suffering from botulism,
in the case of all the birds that were uplifted, the worst strain
that they had been exposed too. All cages and carriers were thoroughly
disinfected with virkon and local RSPB informed. There are currently
high levels (class 2) of nitrate present within our area, SEPA are
aware of this, and there is a possibility that with the increased
warmer temperatures, algae blooms and the birds frequenting sewage
outlets this has been detrimental to the birds catching this potentially
high risk strain.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue - Montrose/Arbroath Area Co-ordinator
Harbour
Porpoise Stranding in Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth.
3rd August
I received the call from head office at around 1130 informing me
that the Coastguard had reports of a stranded Dolphin on the mud
flats in Langstone Harbour. I asked Sue to start calling the local
medics and told her that I would call my assistant coordinator down
there (Jenny Taylor).
Unfortunately, Jenny could not get out of work (she was only three
miles away at that point), so I decided I would go myself and take
my equipment.
I had a work experience lad with me and he thought he would like
to come so we raced home and loaded the Dolphin Pontoons, medic
box, dry suit, water sprayer and life jacket.
We set off and I phoned in to tell Sue what was happening and to
find out the situation.
It was now a Porpoise and looked initially to be in a bad way. The
Fire Brigade, Coastguard and Harbour master were on site and were
waiting for our first medics to arrive.
Our newly trained medics from a local vet practice were on their
way but only had basic equipment. A vet from the same practice was
also on route. I asked Sue to keep me informed and said that we
were about 1 hour away.
By the time we arrived the animal had been removed from the mud
and transferred to a local marina that had deeper water and was
a safer environment. Four of our medics were in the water with 2
members of the coastguard and the vet. They had the Porpoise supported
in a carry sheet and were monitoring the breathing rate and condition.
I spoke immediately to the vet Richard Edwards and was told that
it was a 50/50 situation. The body condition was not brilliant but
also not too serious. Breathing was around 6/7 breaths per minute
and there were not many signs of body movement. I suggested that
we put the porpoise in the pontoons to allow more feeling of the
water movement and Richard agreed.
Although the porpoise (nicknamed Jock) was only around 3ft long
we decided to use the larger sheet as we thought more support might
be needed. The change over went very smoothly and was greatly helped
by the fact that all the medics were familiar with the pontoons
and knew what to do. Now it was a waiting game to see how the porpoise
would respond.
While all this was going on the press had arrived including a TV
film crew. Luckily Carl Morgan from SMLR was keeping them busy and
away from us at the waters edge.
The vital people on site at this time were :-
Charlie Bradford, BDMLR. Neil Sampson, BDMLR. Claire Staires, BDMLR.
Alex Coburn, BDMLR. Sarah Eglan, BDMLR. Gordon Hackshaw, BDMLR.
Richard Edwards (BDMLR VET). Rachel Lillywhite, BDMLR. Anna Donegan,
BDMLR.
Carl Morgan, SMLR. Steve Duff, Coastguard. Martin Letchford, Coastguard.
Four members of The Harbourmasters crew. Jim Green and his officers
from Hampshire Fire Service Animal Rescue Team.
High water was going to be 1800hrs and there was a strong breeze
blowing. Both these factors added to the decision that we would
wait until at least 1500hrs to make a fresh assessment.
By 1500hrs Jock's (still don't know how we ended up with that name)
breathing had slowed to
4/5 per minute and there were signs of movement. I made contact
with our Essex coordinator, Faye Archell as she had had a lot of
experience with Harbour porpoise rescue's. Richard spoke to Faye
and after a long conversation he decided to give Jock a trial release
to see how he would respond.
We borrowed a very large tarpaulin from the boat yard and started
to sink it at the side of the slipway. We then pulled up the sides
and held them. This created a large enclosed pool of water. The
pontoons were moved to the side of the pool and Jock was encouraged
to slip off the support and into the pool. The moment of truth.
He swam around strongly at first looking for a way out. However,
when he realised he could not get out his breathing increased to
around 7/8 a minute. At one stage he even rolled upside down but
was righted and he then just floated there.
We left him for around 20 minutes by which time his breathing returned
to near normal. The decision was made to go for a release if some
smooth water could be found at the harbour entrance some 3 miles
away by boat.
The Harbour master crew brought round there Catamaran and stationed
it off the slipway. They had checked on their radios that the water
was calm out by the life boat station. Jock was guided back into
the pontoons and then lifted onto the boat. His breathing rose to
6/7 per minute again but stayed stable at that for most of the boat
trip. When we arrived the boat crew beached the boat so that it
was stable,Jock was lifted out and lowered into the water. We expected
a long wait to get him used to the conditions and reduce his breathing
but this happened almost immediately. He started wanting to swim
off the pontoon so we formed a small horseshoe in front of him.
However Jock swam off at such a speed that he went straight past
us, to be seen next about 1/2 mile off shore near a marker buoy.
After that we saw him only two more times and he was gone forever
(hopefully).
Many thanks to all those involved especially the Harbourmaster crew,
Coastguard and Fire Brigade.
We do not have many strandings down here so it was nice to have
a successful outcome to this one.
Martyn Dean
Southern Area Coordinator for British Divers Marine Life Rescue
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© Steve
Duff - HM Coastguard
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Bridlington
Common Seal pup rescue
1st August
2006
Received a call from
Sue White at approx 9.30 a.m. with reports of a seal pup on the
promenade (buying an ice cream?!) that had apparently been there
for a day or so.
After checking the
medic list, called Tracey Guild from Filey who attended very quickly,
and reported that it was indeed a common seal pup, less than a metre
long close to the water line. It appeared to be dehydrated and certainly
unhealthily thin due to a visible neckline and almost flat-like
body. It was also covered in flies. It made no attempt to move when
approached and breathing was laboured. There was also no sign of
‘mum’.
Tracey decided it
needed to come in so I contacted Linzi at Scarborough Sealife Centre
who said they had room and would take it. After ringing round for
transportation to no avail I attended myself (my boss was off so
it seemed like a good opportunity to get out of work), and met Tracey
at about 11.30 a.m sat with the seal on the beach. By this time
she’d been with it for over an hour and a half.
Caught the seal easily
(not taking anything away from you Tracey!) and once caged transported
it up to SeaLife, a journey which took another hour or so (traffic
was a nightmare!). Linzi was already waiting with her team and the
seal was taken into the hospital where it was examined. It had a
couple of holes in its flipper, was bleeding from one ear, a few
lacerations around its mouth and a nasty gum infection. It was given
the relevant fluids, bloods taken and put onto a drip. Depressingly
there were already another three pups there brought in during the
past week!
The pup’s now
being monitored carefully and will hopefully be moved onto fish
meals soon.
Many thanks to:
Tracey – for
your quick response, capture and dedication today (oh and for your
directions to SeaLife avoiding the tourist traffic!)
Linzi and Claire from
SeaLife – who were brilliant as always, we’re stood
there waiting for us fully prepared, and let us stay and watch them
work!
Alan Stewart
MMM
North East
