Seal Rescue Ireland

A photo taken of Churro, a female grey seal

So for my summer I'm interning at Ireland's only seal sanctuary, Seal Rescue Ireland which I am really enjoying. I have already learnt so much about the two types of seal found within Irish waters. The first species of seal is the Grey seal. These guys can reach up to 300 KG and the pups, that are born between September and December, are born at roughly 14 KG. The pups are born with a white fur called lanugo which is not waterproof meaning they have to spend the first three weeks on shore with the mother coming to shore to nurse frequently. So if you see a small white seal on shore please keep a distance and phone a wildlife centre if you're worried because mum is more than likely close by. The second species of seal (that is much cuter in my opinion) is the Common seal which is a lot smaller only reaching 130 KG. They are currently in pupping season and are born during the summer months and are able to go straight into the water after they are born but we still advise that if you find one on the shore to follow the same rules as stated above.

So why do we need a rescue centre? Well there are several reasons that seals end up in our care the first of which being plastic ingestion. We have had numerous seals come into the centre with single use plastic within the system, especially shiny piece such as crisp packets that can look like fish. Most of the time the seal throws up the plastic but we have found it stuck in digestive systems which has resulted in the death of a few seals. One way we reduce our plastic is by making EcoBricks which are plastic bottles stuffed with soft plastic that is densely packed so no air is present. They are used in less developed rural areas as actual bricks but we use our to make benches for school tours. If you want to learn how to make them click here. Another major issue is orphaning of pups as they are similar to baby birds in the sense that if the mother does not recognise the scent of the pup or becomes scared she will abandon her pup and self preserve.  Dogs in particular scare seals and should be kept on leads if you are in areas where seals are found. Dogs and seals are also very closely related and and cause disease to spread quickly between them which will not only harm the seal but also put your dog at risk aswell. To prevent this we ask that you do not touch the seal. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. We ask that you keep a distance and call a wildlife centre (or us) and you will be advised what to do. It is likely that the mamma seal is close by in the water so we will send volunteers to watch for roughly an hour to see if the mum can be spotted. If we cannot see her we will then take the seal pup in.

The purpose of SRI is to take in sick, injured or abandoned pups with the aim of releasing them back into the wild and we are more like a seal hospital than a zoo. The centre is run mainly on donations and only get 5% of the costs covered by the Irish government. This is enough to treat roughly six seals but on average we treat 150 seals annually. Each seal costs roughly 2000 Euros to treat as this covers medicine, employment, energy needed, and fish (lots of fish) so to raise money I am doing a run in July. I would appreciate any donations to help the seals below. Please check out the website below and read all the amazing things we do and if anyone is visiting County Wexford come visit and we would love you give you a tour. You can also adopt a seal here for 30 Euros where you get a pack of information and pictures of your pup with updates on how they are doing. 


Donate to my fundraiser to help the seals.
https://www.facebook.com/donate/640533469797106/

Seal Rescue Ireland website - http://www.sealrescueireland.org/