A visibly exhausted and possibly malnourished seal pup that washed up three weeks ago along Strand Beach, just opposite the Hibernian Towers, is still receiving treatment at the Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre and will hopefully be released back into the ocean during August.
The juvenile seal, estimated to be not more than six months old, swam onto the beach on Thursday 29 June when it was noticed by passers-by.
Members of the Strand Seal Watchers were alerted and responded to the scene immediately and found the seal moving only slightly, but still breathing and aware.
“It was about 11:00 in the morning and the seal appeared very exhausted. We contacted the Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre, which advised us to keep a watch on the seal until they could get here,” said Mickey Pretorius, a Strand Seal Watcher.
“Several curious onlookers appeared and it was difficult to keep them at bay. Some people wanted to splash water on the pup but that too is not advisable. It was a bit of a challenge to keep the curious public away from the seal.”
She added that the pup, rather small in size, was in obvious distress and attempted to swim away but minutes later returned to the beach.
“It just broke my heart. I really love sealife and this is why I joined the Strand Seal Watchers, to be able to help when needed. We even helped the seal against the promenade wall to keep it out of view from the public, who often want to interfere.”
As soon as members of the Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre arrived they took control of the situation, loaded the seal into a vehicle and took it straight to the centre.
Kim Krynauw, operational director at the Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre, said when the seal pup arrived it was in a very bad condition.
“It was severely undernourished and had water in its lungs,” she said.
“We battled to keep its glucose levels high, but fortunately it responded well to treatment, which included the administration of electrolytes, charcoal tablets and antibiotics. The first week was critical and we’re happy to report that the seal is at 90% full recovery. We were lucky with this one.”
Krynauw added the seals are fed a fish smoothie, made up mostly of pilchards which are high in fat.
“At the moment we have a severe shortage of pilchards, which we ship in from Port Elizabeth at R35 000 a ton. So we appeal to the community to please assist with any contributions they can to help us reach this target.”
All the details on how to go about a donation can be found on their website: https://hbsrc.org.za/.. In another incident on Saturday 15 July, Strand Seal Watchers were informed of an adult male seal on Strand beach in the vicinity of the Strand Surf Lifesaving Club.
“As a team we monitored him and tried to keep the curious kind and off leash dogs away,” read a statement from the Strand Seal Watchers. “We were in constant communication with Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre too. This was a male about four years old, not fully grown but can pack a mean bite, and that’s why one must stay at least 20 metres away. As he was sadly being harassed by humans the SPCA arrived and moved him on Sunday morning.”
The seal has since been admitted to the SPCA’s Wildlife Short-Term Care facility, and reportedly exhibited symptoms of stress, hypothermia, exhaustion and appeared to be underweight, but was being fed supplemental nutrients and vitamins to get him back into the ocean.
