News Letters & Rescue

News Items and Rescues

January - Coming Soon

February - Coming Soon

December 2002 News

My Favourite Christmas Pic!
Friday 27th

This is Millie, one of our identical twins. Photo taken in last two weeks ... they're now just over 8 months old.

Click to enlarge

"Poor exploited child !!??"

Tony

More Christmas Wishes
Friday 27th

... sending the "boys" with express wishes to you all - hope you have a great holiday and enjoy some well deserved time off !

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE
BEST FOR 2003!

Christmas Wishes - New Zealand Style!
Friday 27th

Dear Tony,

New Dundee Seal Rescue Facility
Friday 27th

Dear All,

Just to report that Gareth Norman and the Tayforth team of BDMLR have now succeeded in finding a location for our temporary seal rescue facility in Dundee. The building has been donated by Historic Scotland and we would like to thank them for their generosity.

( Pic : Gareth Norman (and his ambulance) in front of Broughty Ferry Castle that houses the rescue unit ) Click to enlarge

The SSPCA have loaned us 5 seal pools and Gareth and his team are working hard to secure donations of amongst other things a freezer and food liquidiser.

The rescue facility is now open for business and we hope to be able to cope with up to 8 seals at a time.

The Directors of BDMLR would like to thank Gareth , Elaine, Helen, Kate and the rest of the Tayforth team for all of their efforts !

( Pic : Gareth and Elaine inside the newly decorated unit. )
Click to enlarge

Alan Knight
BDMLR Director

Volunteers Needed at RSPCA Wildlife Hospital , East Winch, Norfolk - U.K.
Friday 6th

Can you please put out a request on the news service for help for East Winch - They are inundated with oiled birds and still have common seals coming in. Ideally people that can stomach tube either seals and/or birds, but any help will probably be appreciated. If anyone can help, please get them to contact me directly either by email or on either of the numbers below. I will organise our volunteers for East Winch.

I'll send you an update on what's happening in East Anglia shortly.

Kind Regards,

Kieran Copeland,
Anglian Co-ordinator, British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
07980 558481 - Mobile
01485 540694 - Home
anglia@bdmlr.org.uk

Click to Enlarge

At 15.00 hours on 19th November, BDMLR Aberdeenshire Co-ordinator, Nick Duthie was contacted to report a seal pup, seen to be in difficulty, near the Banffshire town of Portsoy. A resident of Portsoy, Pat Cooney, had been walking her dog at the Red Rock, approximately 1 mile to the east of the town. She contacted the Macduff Marine Aquarium who kindly referred her to the CRRU from the information on the Scottish Strandings Poster.

Nick immediately contacted all the MMMedics in the vicinity. Dave and Barbi White were 25 miles away, in Elgin at the time while the remainder were uncontactable. Nick collected Zoology student and MMMedic, Jo Foo, for her first rescue! Both teams agreed to meet up at the nearby caravan site car park. It was now 18.00 and darkness prevailed. Fortunately the tide was out and wasn't due to be high tide again until 23.30.

The team set off across the rugged terrain with a seal stretcher, VariKennel and safety equipment. Time was of the essence as we estimated the pup had been there all afternoon, so it would likely be quite stressed and dehydrated.

Click to Enlarge

After what seemed like an eternity of trudging through mud and stumbling over rocks and burns, doubts started to set in as to ever finding the animal, Suddenly Dave stopped abruptly and whispered to the team "Its right here!" We thought it was a wind up as there was no way the pup could be so far up the shore line. However, the pup (later named Meander by Dave) was lying in an awkward position between two rocks, obviously exhausted.

Meanwhile Barbi White was doing sterling work on the phone, and called to say MMMedic, Derek Day was on his way from Portgordon. This was of some relief as retrieving this pup was going to be a feat of strength and endurance. Meanwhile Dave, Nick and Jo assessed Meander and concluded it was a recently weaned grey seal, having shed it's white fur coat. Only weighing in the region of 20 Kgs, it had an assortment of abrasions and it had a distinctive neck, indicating significant malnourishment. Also it became apparent that it had injured a claw on its right flipper due to the serrated rock formations . However its eyes were bright and didn't appear to have any respiratory problems. So following a careful analysis of the symptoms and location, it was clear that the seal was too young and malnourished to survive on his/her own, it was agreed that Meander should be taken to wildlife vet, Lawrence Braine at New Deer.

With a little difficulty, eventually Meander decided it looked more appealing inside the cage, and entered willingly. To reduce the stress to the pup, the VariKennel was covered with a sheet, as we negotiated the treacherous terrain. Finally after a marathon session, carrying the kennel on our shoulders using poles through the handles, Derek appeared and helped the now exhausted team to move the pup to the safety of the vehicle. A job well done!

Nick and Jo delivered Meander to Lawrence Braine at New Deer, who confirmed that we had done the correct thing by bringing the young seal in to the rehabilitation facility. Lawrence suggested that the pup may have been separated from and battered about on the rocks due to the storms a few days earlier.

A HUGE thank you to Dave, Barbi, Jo, Lawrence and Pat for the parts they played in another successful rescue!

Now doesn't that make you feel warm and sealy inside?

Dave White

Christmas Pressie Idea !!??
Tuesday 3rd

Click to enlarge

Now then with Christmas fast approaching, what better present could your news members want to give other than a Scuba Squirrel ??? Those of you that couldn't make the Dive Show may be interested ? .... we sold quite a few there !

We are selling them for the BDMLR and they are £5. The whole amount is for the 'cause', we are willing to post out if you add 50p for P&P and the address is:

Dolphin Diving, 'Otters', Lustleigh, Devon, TQ13 9SH

For the attention of Rose Rapier

Hurry while Stocks Last !

Kind Regards

Rose Rapier
Dolphin Diving

As I am about to take a short break -- following a thoroughly exhausting field season here in Gardenstown at the CRRU base -- I thought it apt to provide a summary update to the newsgroups on, what seems to have been on reflection, the busiest summer period for rescue callouts I can recall in Scotland...

Locally, we have only been called out to one live cetacean stranding - that of the 2 dolphins at Burghead in the Moray Firth on 11 August - but nationally we have responded to an additional 5 call outs:

MAY

BDMLR Stand at Bristol 'EA' Fun Day
Tuesday 3rd

Click to Enlarge

Tracey Lear (who is one of the other Bristol&Somerset co-ordinators) and I hosted a British Divers Stand at the Environment Agency's fun day in Bristol on 30th August, to which we were kindly invited by Gemma Barry, one of our local Marine Mammal Medics.

Tracey, myself, and Priyah Sukhantar (another of our local medics) spent an enjoyable day talking to the public and Environment Agency staff about the work of British Divers. We should also thank the EA, as they are sharing the profits from the day between all the charities represented.

January - Coming Soon	February - Coming Soon	March - Coming Soon	April 02	May 02	June 02
July 02	August 02	September 02	October 02	November 02	December 02

		December 2002 News
	My Favourite Christmas Pic! Friday 27th This is Millie, one of our identical twins. Photo taken in last two weeks ... they're now just over 8 months old. Click to enlarge "Poor exploited child !!??" Tony
	More Christmas Wishes Friday 27th ... sending the "boys" with express wishes to you all - hope you have a great holiday and enjoy some well deserved time off ! HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST FOR 2003! Liz (and everyone else at The Marine Connection xx) Liz Sandeman The Marine Connection, PO Box 2404, London, W2 3WG (reg UK charity no. 1062222) Tel/Fax: +44 (0)207 499 9196 email : liz@marineconnection.org web : www.marineconnection.org "*Conservation through education, protecting whales, dolphins and the worlds' oceans for future generations*"
	Christmas Wishes - New Zealand Style! Friday 27th Dear Tony, On behalf of Project Jonah (NZ) Inc, I would like to wish all at British Divers Marine Life Rescue, a very merry Christmas and a successful and fulfilling new year. Sheryl Gibney Project Jonah (NZ) Inc Stranding Rescue Technical Adviser.
	New Dundee Seal Rescue Facility Friday 27th Dear All, Just to report that Gareth Norman and the Tayforth team of BDMLR have now succeeded in finding a location for our temporary seal rescue facility in Dundee. The building has been donated by Historic Scotland and we would like to thank them for their generosity. ( Pic : Gareth Norman (and his ambulance) in front of Broughty Ferry Castle that houses the rescue unit ) Click to enlarge The SSPCA have loaned us 5 seal pools and Gareth and his team are working hard to secure donations of amongst other things a freezer and food liquidiser. The rescue facility is now open for business and we hope to be able to cope with up to 8 seals at a time. The Directors of BDMLR would like to thank Gareth , Elaine, Helen, Kate and the rest of the Tayforth team for all of their efforts ! ( Pic : Gareth and Elaine inside the newly decorated unit. ) Click to enlarge Alan Knight BDMLR Director
	Christmas Parcel? Friday 27th Kevin Robinson - BDMLR Scotland Co-ordinator Another call out today (Mon) to a seal pup at Crovie near Gardenstown. On arrival we found a very young grey with full white coat looking rather sorry for itself and very underweight. It also had an umbilical infection. Glad to say though that it is now in the very good hands of local vet Lawrence Brain and the Grampian Wildlife Rehabilitation Trust, and will definitely enjoy the comforts of an indoor pool and full stomach over the festive Xmas period. It's difficult to post emails about all the seal call outs attended in recent weeks, as there have been so many casualties (this pup takes Lawrence up to full capacity (again) now with a total of 4 pups currently in rehab). That saying, we simply had to post these pics to the group as, I think you'll agree, he really was quite the most adorable looking fella I think I have ever seen! Click to enlarge Wishing all of you out there a WONDERFUL Xmas!!! Kevin & Elaine
	Institute of Zoology Monday 16th The Institute of Zoology have placed a halt on all beach surveys by medics to monitor the PDV outbreak in England. They are however continuing in Wales and Scotland for the time being. Becky Lawson from the institute would like to extend their thanks for all the hard work and dedication shown by our medics over this period and for all the valuable information gathered during this time. Here at BDMLR we appreciate the effort of all our medics involved their professional conduct.It has done the reputation of BDMLR the world of good, so many, many thanks! The phone number for reporting incidents is still operational, so please do continue to report anything that you may find if you are on beach in the near future. Kate Whelan *International Animal Rescue* Tel: 01825 767688 Fax: 01825 768012 British Divers Marine Life Rescue Tel: 01825 765546 Fax: 01825 768012 kate@iar.org.uk
	Volunteers Needed at RSPCA Wildlife Hospital , East Winch, Norfolk - U.K. Friday 6th Can you please put out a request on the news service for help for East Winch - They are inundated with oiled birds and still have common seals coming in. Ideally people that can stomach tube either seals and/or birds, but any help will probably be appreciated. If anyone can help, please get them to contact me directly either by email or on either of the numbers below. I will organise our volunteers for East Winch. I'll send you an update on what's happening in East Anglia shortly. Kind Regards, Kieran Copeland, Anglian Co-ordinator, British Divers Marine Life Rescue. 07980 558481 - Mobile 01485 540694 - Home anglia@bdmlr.org.uk
	Cetacean rehabilitation in the United States Tuesday 3rd Some of you may be aware that I have just returned from a month’s trip to the States to investigate cetacean rehabilitation, after receiving a generous travel grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. As you will all know, presently we can only euthanase stranded cetaceans or return them to the sea in the UK. We know little about what happens to those released and we are still working on a funding proposal to track them. If we manage to raise the cash (about £50,000 for an initial ten animals) and the tracking reveals that released animals are not surviving long term, I felt it was important that we had fully evaluated the option of rehabilitation, in case we wish to reconsider its use in this country. I visited 7 rehabilitation facilities in all, from Florida to Connecticut on the east coast and also in California. I learnt a great deal about how the Americans deal with stranded cetaceans and was able to witness first hand ongoing rehabilitation attempts with a pigmy and dwarf sperm whale at Mote Marine Laboratory, a bottlenose dolphin at Harbor Branch and a harbour porpoise at Mystic Aquarium. The last was ready for release, which is an achievement in itself, but the first three all stranded as dependent calves, illustrating the Americans’ different philosophy to the management of beached neonates. I will be writing a report on my trip and will distribute this (and perhaps even get a chance to present it) through BDMLR and MARC. This will include information gathered on survival rates (which are undoubtedly low), and the number and disposition of animals considered unfit for release, so the report will hopefully provide us with some useful data on which to base further consideration of the option of rehabilitation. If anybody has any ideas as to how to raise £50,000, please let me know! Here are a few pictures of the trip, which show it wasn’t all just cetaceans, cetaceans, cetaceans….! Click to enlarge James Barnett Veterinary Director - BDMLR
	Young seal pup rescued from the Red Rock ! Tuesday 3rd Click to Enlarge At 15.00 hours on 19th November, BDMLR Aberdeenshire Co-ordinator, Nick Duthie was contacted to report a seal pup, seen to be in difficulty, near the Banffshire town of Portsoy. A resident of Portsoy, Pat Cooney, had been walking her dog at the Red Rock, approximately 1 mile to the east of the town. She contacted the Macduff Marine Aquarium who kindly referred her to the CRRU from the information on the Scottish Strandings Poster. Nick immediately contacted all the MMMedics in the vicinity. Dave and Barbi White were 25 miles away, in Elgin at the time while the remainder were uncontactable. Nick collected Zoology student and MMMedic, Jo Foo, for her first rescue! Both teams agreed to meet up at the nearby caravan site car park. It was now 18.00 and darkness prevailed. Fortunately the tide was out and wasn't due to be high tide again until 23.30. The team set off across the rugged terrain with a seal stretcher, VariKennel and safety equipment. Time was of the essence as we estimated the pup had been there all afternoon, so it would likely be quite stressed and dehydrated. Click to Enlarge After what seemed like an eternity of trudging through mud and stumbling over rocks and burns, doubts started to set in as to ever finding the animal, Suddenly Dave stopped abruptly and whispered to the team "Its right here!" We thought it was a wind up as there was no way the pup could be so far up the shore line. However, the pup (later named Meander by Dave) was lying in an awkward position between two rocks, obviously exhausted. Meanwhile Barbi White was doing sterling work on the phone, and called to say MMMedic, Derek Day was on his way from Portgordon. This was of some relief as retrieving this pup was going to be a feat of strength and endurance. Meanwhile Dave, Nick and Jo assessed Meander and concluded it was a recently weaned grey seal, having shed it's white fur coat. Only weighing in the region of 20 Kgs, it had an assortment of abrasions and it had a distinctive neck, indicating significant malnourishment. Also it became apparent that it had injured a claw on its right flipper due to the serrated rock formations . However its eyes were bright and didn't appear to have any respiratory problems. So following a careful analysis of the symptoms and location, it was clear that the seal was too young and malnourished to survive on his/her own, it was agreed that Meander should be taken to wildlife vet, Lawrence Braine at New Deer. With a little difficulty, eventually Meander decided it looked more appealing inside the cage, and entered willingly. To reduce the stress to the pup, the VariKennel was covered with a sheet, as we negotiated the treacherous terrain. Finally after a marathon session, carrying the kennel on our shoulders using poles through the handles, Derek appeared and helped the now exhausted team to move the pup to the safety of the vehicle. A job well done! Nick and Jo delivered Meander to Lawrence Braine at New Deer, who confirmed that we had done the correct thing by bringing the young seal in to the rehabilitation facility. Lawrence suggested that the pup may have been separated from and battered about on the rocks due to the storms a few days earlier. A HUGE thank you to Dave, Barbi, Jo, Lawrence and Pat for the parts they played in another successful rescue! Now doesn't that make you feel warm and sealy inside? Dave White
	Christmas Pressie Idea !!?? Tuesday 3rd Click to enlarge Now then with Christmas fast approaching, what better present could your news members want to give other than a Scuba Squirrel ??? Those of you that couldn't make the Dive Show may be interested ? .... we sold quite a few there ! We are selling them for the BDMLR and they are £5. The whole amount is for the 'cause', we are willing to post out if you add 50p for P&P and the address is: Dolphin Diving, 'Otters', Lustleigh, Devon, TQ13 9SH For the attention of Rose Rapier Hurry while Stocks Last ! Kind Regards Rose Rapier Dolphin Diving
	Update from Aberdeenshire - 8th November 2002 Tuesday 3rd As I am about to take a short break -- following a thoroughly exhausting field season here in Gardenstown at the CRRU base -- I thought it apt to provide a summary update to the newsgroups on, what seems to have been on reflection, the busiest summer period for rescue callouts I can recall in Scotland... Locally, we have only been called out to one live cetacean stranding - that of the 2 dolphins at Burghead in the Moray Firth on 11 August - but nationally we have responded to an additional 5 call outs: MAY Berwick-upon-Tweed - Young pilot whale circling in bay in shallow water. Was guided back out to sea by medics JUNE Leith, near Edinburgh - Juvenile male sperm whale in the Firth of Forth live stranded at Leith but apparently refloated itself. Washed up dead 2 days later with spermaceti organ exploded (suggesting it died very shortly after it was first reported). JULY Cramond Island, nr Edinburgh - Adult male white-beaked dolphin became stranded during early hours of the morning. A commendable team effort was made to save this animal but veterinary prognosis dictated euthanasia. Cambpeltown, Argyll & Bute - Live harbour porpoise stranding. Passed away whilst medics on route. AUGUST Burghead - 2 dolphins stranded and were refloated by members of the public before medics could reach the scene. A search of the area was carried out with the local coastguard, but to no avail. Unfortunately nobody at the scene was able to provide a useful identification of the animals. In addition to the above cetacean strandings, the last 2 1/2 months seem to have been a very busy period for pinnipeds too. With PDV on the horizon, the high number of call-outs may well have been a reflection of increased vigilance by the public and animal welfare groups at large. Nonetheless, we have taken in - and successfully released after rehab - 4 common seal pups in Aberdeenshire in recent weeks (see pics below) - all cleared of PDV. A further 3 call outs to evasive common pups resulted in empty varikennels, and we also recovered a common seal pup carcass in Sep from a local beach (well done Kath!). In addition, we have also been called-out to a total of 11 dead greys (over half of whom had been shot, inspite of the new conservation act!). Nov 5th saw our first grey seal pup of the year. Unbelievably, we were called out as kids were throwing fireworks at the petrified youngster! They soon disappeared when we pulled up though! In short, the whole PDV issue has kept us very busy this year (with patrolling beaches / surveying colonies in the Moray Firth & Aberdeenshire coastlines, meetings, press interviews and call-outs) and, as a result, it was really very difficult to hold our popular annual "Scottish Mass Stranding Exercise" this summer. As BDMLR National Strandings Co-ordinator for Scotland, I can only apologise to all those keen folk who were looking forward to the event and hope you will understand. There's always next year huh? In closing, I must say a HUGE thanks to all our Scottish area co-ordinators for their considerable support and effort in 2002 in bringing Scotland's MMM's together, especially the East coast team. Thanks guys, couldn't have done it without you! Thanks for all your excellent work! Next year will see us targeting the West Coast of Scotland, the Orkneys and the Shetlands. A big job - in view of the huge amount of coastline - but a very important target area nonetheless. Now for that holiday... Best wishes Dr Kevin Robinson National Strandings Co-ordinator, BDMLR Scotland
	Plymouth BDMLR Meetings - Suspended Tuesday 3rd Plymouth ( & Devon ) BDMLR Co-ordinator, Arie den Hollander has asked me to advise everyone that, with immediate effect, the Plymouth group will no longer meet on a monthly basis. The last meeting ( Nov ) was only attended by Arie and two others and they voted to suspend the meetings. This is a great shame .... I know the difficulty of trying to keep everyone together socially ... it's very demanding.
	BDMLR Stand at Bristol 'EA' Fun Day Tuesday 3rd Click to Enlarge Tracey Lear (who is one of the other Bristol&Somerset co-ordinators) and I hosted a British Divers Stand at the Environment Agency's fun day in Bristol on 30th August, to which we were kindly invited by Gemma Barry, one of our local Marine Mammal Medics. Tracey, myself, and Priyah Sukhantar (another of our local medics) spent an enjoyable day talking to the public and Environment Agency staff about the work of British Divers. We should also thank the EA, as they are sharing the profits from the day between all the charities represented. The photo shows Tracey (left) and Racheal Cooper (right). Racheal works for the Environment Agency and is also one of our medics. Nicki Grint ( Somerset/Bristol Co-ordinator )