Known as ‘Joey’, the malnourished pup was saved by a team from the Jersey branch of British Divers Marine Life Rescue after he was found separated from his mother. He was then delivered to the GSPCA and has since been in the care of Geoff George, head of marine mammals at the shelter.
Joey is now the sole Jersey pup recovering at the facility, after another seal named Ellie – who was rescued from Plémont last year – died while undergoing rehabilitation.
Mr George said: ‘Joey was really poorly when he first arrived eight months ago from Jersey and we are really pleased with his progress.
‘He is happily rehabilitating with two Guernsey grey seal pups Titan and India who were also rescued earlier this year.’
He added: ‘All three are eating well, although Titan is fussier than the other two.
‘They are very close to being released back to the wild and – as they are so close – we plan to release them as a group and will let everyone know very soon when that takes place.’
GSPCA manager Steve Byrne said all three seals were making ‘excellent progress’ and that they could be released back into their natural habitat ‘within weeks’.
‘Joey is doing extremely well and we are just making sure that all the boxes are ticked before he gets released. What we don’t want to do is take them out when they are not ready and then have to take them back in again – they have to be spot on,’ he said.
Anyone interested in supporting the shelter’s work can donate by visiting the GSPCA website at gspca.org.gg/fundraising.
