THE first seal pup to be rescued in Jersey this season has been transferred to Guernsey’s animal shelter for rehabilitation.
A team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue recovered the pup – which has since been named ‘Shakespeare’ – after it was separated from its mother and washed ashore at the western end of St Aubin’s Bay on Tuesday.
It is now receiving care from Geoff George, head of marine mammals at the GSPCA.
Donna de Gruchy, the Jersey co-ordinator for BDMLR, reminded Islanders not to handle a seal pup if they find one and instead call the JSPCA on 724331 – or their out-of-hours number, 07797 720331.
‘He arrived very flat and exhausted but after New Era [veterinary hospital] gave the pup vital fluids it picked up and was given the all-clear to set sail for Guernsey that evening,’ she said. ‘The pup is one of the noisiest we have had in and is still continuing to call for its mother – it’s heartbreaking,’ she added.
GSPCA manager Steve Byrne said: ‘With rough weather, and as we move closer to the winter, we often see seal mothers separated from their pups and yesterday we received the first of the season which was rescued in Jersey.’
‘The grey seal pup is only days old and was only 16.2kg when it arrived.’
He added: ‘It is the grey seal that we predominantly see around our shores, and with such stormy weather the mums could easily get separated or pups harmed due to the sea conditions.’
Ms de Gruchy added: ‘Never approach the pup or usher it back to sea and definitely never touch or cradle a seal pup. If you have time to wait for us to attend, please ask other beach walkers to put dogs on leads and keep everyone back.’
