Just after 3pm today the GSPCA boxed up three Guernsey grey seal pups after months of care and headed to the South West of Guernsey.
Sizzle who was rescued on New Years Eve near the smelly pond in the Vale, Jagho Herman rescued in Herm mid December and Blueberry rescued at Fort Grey just before Christmas all extremely emaciated and with a variety of health problems have been nursed back to health, all more than doubling their weight and today saw them released back to the wild.
To make a donation to help the seals in our care please go to https://giving.gg/donate/charity/2/Guernsey-Society-for-the-Prevention-of-Cruelty-to-Animals-(GSPCA)
To see videos of the seal release please go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDl7OsZbFJNZ9FXH9ytwfDQ
Geoff George GSPCA Head of Marine Mammals said “Every seal pup we rescue need around the clock care quite often requiring two hourly tube feeding with fluids around the clock.”
“There is a lot of work that goes into saving a seal pups life and it is always fantast when we can get them back to the wild.”
“In the last ten years we have helped 18 grey seal pups back to the wild and with Maverick we now have 7 in our care.”
“Sizzle, Jagho Herman and Blueberry reached such a great weight we were able to release them today.”
“We got to the release site which was Portlet near where Blueberry was rescued just before 4pm and it was wonderful to see them get back to where they belong.”
“The 4 seal pups still with us are Luna C and Maverick from Guernsey and Aurora and Eliza the Jersey pups, all are doing well.”
Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said “Its been a really busy seal season with 7 seals through our care this season with Maverick arriving this week which means we are going through a huge amount of fish and proves the need for a new Wildlife Hospital.”
“We absolutely love when we get wildlife back to where they belong and it is always a magical sight when we see seals swim back to where they belong.”
“With these three seal pups it takes the total to 21 returned to our waters over the last 10 years.”
“Sizzle, Jagho Herman and Blueberry are such a fantastic weight having arrived close to starving to death.”
“Watching them enter the water really warmed the heart and we hope to get three more back to the wild soon namely Luna C, Auora and Eliza, Maverick having only just arrived has many weeks to go before being ready for the wild.”
“We have released doubles but never 3 in one go, so it was lovely to see them go together as they are very close.”
“We managed to bring some of the team with us and some came who were on their days off and despite the wind and the cold the water was ideal and they didn’t hang about.”
“In fact it must have been the quickest seal release we have done as they were so keen.”
“Huge thank you to all those that supported the care of these three, and please do continue to support the 4 we still have in our care.”
“If you do see a seal pup please do give us a call on 257261 or send a few pictures via our facebook or admin@gspca.org.gg so we can monitor them.”
“For advice on what to do and how to identify a sick seal pup check out our advice page http://www.gspca.org.gg/animal/seal-advice “
“There are many ways to support our work and the seal pups from making a donation towards their care to donating or helping towards the new much needed Wildlife Hospital.”
“To make a donation to help the seals in our care please go to https://giving.gg/donate/charity/2/Guernsey-Society-for-the-Prevention-of-Cruelty-to-Animals-(GSPCA) .”
“You can also donate by calling 01481 257261, by post to GSPCA, Rue des Truchots, St Andrews, Guernsey GY6 8UD or popping up to the Shelter in St Andrews.”
“To make a direct donation to the Wildlife Hospital please visit – https://giving.gg/donate/event/4618/Please-Support-the-GSPCA-Wildlife-Hospital-Appeal .”
“To Buy a Brick in the new Wildlife Hospital and download a leaflet please click here – http://www.gspca.org.gg/sites/default/files/Buy%20a%20Brick%20Wildlife%20Hospital.pdf .”
“Larger donors or corporates may want to make a larger donation and become an Exclusive Build Partner and to find out more please visit – http://www.gspca.org.gg/page/gspca-exclusive-build-partner .”
Here is a table of the seals we have helped back to the wild and those in our care –
Name: Arrived: Where found:
Jethou Bumblee November 2012 Jethou
Hanois January 2013 Guernsey
Trinity January 2014 Guernsey
Eden January 2014 Guernsey
Bonnie January 2016 Guernsey
Sami December 2016 Jersey
Temperance November 2017 Guernsey
Andrew November 2018 Jersey
Marty December 2018 Jersey
Gully December 2018 Guernsey
Sealia January 2019 Guernsey
Mambo February 2019 Guernsey
Hannah February 2019 Guernsey
Pebbles February 2020 Guernsey
Joey November 2020 Jersey
Titan December 2020 Guernsey
India March 2021 Guernsey
Pork Pie November 2021 Guernsey (originally from Cornwall)
Aurora November 2021 Jersey (still in care)
Eliza November 2021 Jersey (still in care)
Jagho Herman November 2021 Herm, Guernsey
Luna C November 2021 Guernsey (still in care)
Blueberry November 2021 Guernsey
Sizzle November 2021 Guernsey
Maverick April 2022 Guernsey (still in care)
To see some of the previous stories about seals please click here http://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/tag/seals .
Some grey seal facts –
· Population numbers since 1960s have doubled
· A grey seal pup weighs 14kg at birth
· A grey seal pup mothers milk contains 60% fat
· Grey seals can dive to a depth of 70m
· Another name for a grey seal is the horsehead seal
· Grey seals are found in the waters surrounding Europe, Russia, North America, and Channel Islands
· Grey seals can be found in estuaries, inter tidal zones, brackish water, polar and shallow seas
· There are 18 known species of seal in the world
· Many sick seal pups need tube feeding every 2-3 hours day and night on arrival
· The seal pups in our care once eating will consume 20-30 herring or mackerel each day
· We aim for a release weight in excess of 40 kg, with good weather and a remote location
· The GSPCA has returned 14 seals back to the wild in the last ten years
For advice on what to do if you see or find sick or injured wildlife please visit http://www.gspca.org.gg/animals/wildlife-advice or call 01481 257261
http://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/first-2022-and-it-biggest-seal-release-gspca-has-done