A tiny seal pup, the youngest ever to come
into an RSPCA centre, has been rescued and
rehabilitated thanks to the British Divers Marine
Life Rescue team and the RSPCA.
he young common seal pup
was discovered on the beach
at Sandwich Bay, in Kent, last
summer. He was rescued by a
team from British Divers Marine Life
Rescue, who took him to RSPCA
Mallydams Wood, 60 miles away in
Hastings, East Sussex.
Youngest ever
Wildlife rehabilitation team manager at
Mallydams, Richard Thompson, said:
"This pup was so young his umbilical
cord was still attached and he still had
his white, downy lanugo coat, which is
normally lost before birth. Because of
these, we knew he must have been
born prematurely and then somehow
become separated from his mother.
We called him Olaf, after the snowman
in the film Frozen."
Weighing in at just 8.7kg, Olaf needed
round-the-clock care from Mallydams
staff, who took it in turns to feed him
through the night during his first week
at the centre.
"Seal parents are normally with their
pups continuously during the first month
of their lives, so they are very keen to
nuzzle up to you when you are feeding
them," said Richard. "Sometimes they
suck your clothing for comfort! It's sad
when they do that, because you know
they want contact. But we don't bottle
feed seal pups as they become too
dependent - that makes it hard to wean
them on to whole fish. Because there's
no formula substitute for the rich milk
from his actual mother, Olaf's growth
rate was much slower than it would have
been had everything gone successfully in
the wild. He needed a lot of care!"
Growing stronger
Olaf had no teeth when he first arrived
at Mallydams, but he did develop them
very quickly. Once they were through he
was able to eat whole fish by ripping
Little orphan
Pics: RSPCA, Nick Williams, Nicole Firminger
12 www.animalaction.co.uk
T
This tiny orphan seal pup has been returned to the wild.
Rescue
story
ALTHOUGH THE FLUFFY
WHITE COAT DISAPPEARS IN
COMMON SEALS LIKE OLAF BEFORE THEY
ARE BORN, GREY SEAL PUPS KEEP THEIRS
FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. SO, IF YOU'RE
LUCKY ENOUGH TO SEE A WHITE, DOWNY
SEAL PUP DON'T ASSUME IT'S IN
TROUBLE, IT'S PROBABLY A HEALTHY
GREY SEAL!