Featured Image Credit: Werner Hills via Herald Live
By Laura O’Brien
Bayworld Aquarium in South Africa has changed the lives of five young seals, who will soon be released back into the ocean. Over the last two months, stranding calls have brought rescuers to the Eastern Cape coastline where they found each of the five seals.
The youngsters are believed to have come from south of the cape, from islands like Marion and Gough, where more of their kind are known to live. The five seals at Bayworld were quite lucky to have been found and rescued. Young seals wash up each winter in South Africa; and according to Dr. Greg Hofmeyr, the marine mammals’ curator at Bayworld, “many of them are emaciated, close to starving and would have died if they were left on the beach”.
One of the rescued seals was especially thin, in fact, staff did not believe that he would survive at first. Now that seal, named Skinny, is on track to be released once he is fully rehabilitated. All five of the seals will be released after their healing is complete The seabirds and mammals curator for Bayworld, Lungisani Mbhele, commented on the seals’ diet, “they get a variety of hake, pilchard, squid and mackerel and have gained a lot of weight from the first time I saw them”, which is a great indication for the young seals. Each seal has a goal weight of 10kg, so they will each need to put on 2 or 3 kilograms to reach their goal.
In addition to malnutrition, one seal had injuries to his front and rear flippers which could indicate that he was bitten, or perhaps that he crashed into rocks. The team has been treating his wounds with a spray that prevents infection.
The team has worked very hard to ensure that all of the seals will have the best possible chance for survival. Hofmeyr even said that Bayworld followed a special protocol which is designed for sub-Antarctic fur seals when the seals arrived. When the time comes, the seals will be released in the Agulhas current, off of the continental shelf (about 60km offshore). From there, the current should help carry the seals home.
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