Keepers at the Welsh Mountain Zoo (National Zoo of Wales) released four grey seals back into the wild on Tuesday 27th February following a long period of rehabilitation for the marine mammals.
The two males and two females were found along the South Wales coast after they were swept out to sea and lost to their mothers in the early winter storms. The pups were probably born in late October and November 2017, and were significantly underweight at 12kg each when found.
The seals now weigh a very healthy 40kg, thanks to a diet consisting of fish soup initially, followed by up to 7 kgs of fresh fish a day. Due to the poor weather conditions at the end of last year, it’s estimated that some colonies lost up to 70% of their pups.
Peter Litherland, Collection Manager at the Welsh Mountain Zoo commented: “Some of the pups come to us in a lost or abandoned state and are very weak with infections. Some seals have been attacked by other seals or dogs or have wounds associated with propellers or even tangled up in rubbish. We are now well-versed in the rehabilitation of seal pups and so begin a course of caring and nurturing to get them back to a healthy state.”
Peter added: “It costs approximately £7 a day to feed growing pups plus a huge investment in keeper time to get the sickly pups to a good weight. It is always a privilege to be part of the team that transforms the physical well-being of theses lovely pups and wonderful to see a healthy seal swim away to a new future it almost certainly would not have had.
We always breathe a sigh of relief when we see them swim away as it has taken three or four months of careful painstaking work to get these sick/abandoned animals back to health, so a bitter sweet moment to say goodbye!”
In addition to seal rehabilitation, the team at the Welsh Mountain Zoo are also working on their latest conservation project, The Silk Road. This ambitious project will see a new hilltop home for the snow leopards at the zoo, and also generate support for the Snow Leopard Trust which conserves the species in the wild.
The Silk Road project has attracted celebrity backing from Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, but is relying on a crowdfunding campaign to reach the £200,000 target needed to realise the project.
Those supporting the crowdfunding campaign were also offered the chance to personally release the rehabilitated seals back into the wild. The unique reward was offered to four lucky supporters who helped the seals swim away into the Welsh Sea upon release.
For more details on the Silk Road Project go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-silk-road and information on visiting The Welsh Mountain Zoo – www.welshmountainzoo.org
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