Despite being in the middle of tearing down its facilities ahead of building a new Wildlife Hospital, the GSPCA has taken another seal pup into its care.
Wide Awake is the fourth rescue of this season, and the latest in a naming convention which seems to centre around pop star Katy Perry.
Wide Awake joins Dark Horse, Swish, and Fireworks in the GSPCA’s care.
Picked up by the GSPCA last Thursday (15 April), Geoff George said Wide Awake is already showing some good signs of progress.
“She is only 22kgs so half of the weight she should be for her age. She was found dehydrated and exhausted although very aggressive which is a good sign.
“It is not easy caring for such sick seal pups when they arrive needing 24 hour care and without us these pups wouldn’t be alive today. We are currently preparing to move the seal pups to some temporary accommodation on site ahead of our planned big build.”
The animal charity has been having to find some clever workarounds to help continue caring for the wildlife that also calls the island and it’s waters their home. A potentially sizeable problem ahead could be centred around the pool and aqua facilities, which the seals use to continue their rehabilitation.
Manager of the Animal Charity, Steve Byrne said: “We are due to knock down our current seal facilities to build new and are looking for support to care for the pups during these challenging times.
“As we have our preferred builders we are now in negotiations with, we are hopeful for a quick turn around for all the pups ahead of the new build but we are reaching out to anyone who thinks they can help with, certainly this, and next year’s seal pup rehab.
“Some of the current wildlife buildings have started to come down and although we have areas for triaging the seal pups, it is the pool stage we will not have, and this is when we get the weight and fitness into each pup to ready for the wild.
“We are looking at options but anyone that think they could help we would love to hear from them. We have set up some temporary solutions but would love better options to what we currently have.”