Tuesday 18 August 2009

Abe 4th of march

Abe was a very calm and friendly pup,initially it was thought he had lost lots of weight due to an infection and we carefully monitored his progress.Abe would not feed for himself and as he gained weight this became more of a problem.Blood samples came back with no clear answers to why he was not progressing as anticipated.After consultation with James Barrnet and our local vets we decided the only way forward was to x-ray Abe.The x-ray results were not good he had genetic abnormalites that we could do nothing about,and Abe was euthanasied while under anesthetic.All at the nursery were deeply upset as Abe was a lovely pup who we will always remember.

Roxy's Vet visit 18th of feb


Roxy was progressing well she had regained full movement in both her rear flippers and was due for another round of x-rays at the vets in Thurso.
All at the hospital were nervious to see what the outcome would be for her.
After her sedation had taken effect several x-rays were taken so that the vets could view the area of the break from different angles to ensure a clear diagnosis.
The news was positive the break had healed very well and she could be put in the outdoor pool to fininsh off her rehabilitation before release.
This was a very happy day for the hospital as Roxy's care had been difficult but very rewarding.

grey seal release 27th of March 2009

March 27th was a fantastic day,the hospital was a hive of activity all hands on deck for our first mass release.Luckily the release site is not too far away from the hospital so minimum travel stress for the pups.It was a very emotional day for all the volunteers involved as Roxy was ready to go,a day many of us did not think we would see.As you can see from the photos the pups are all healthy weights 40kg +.

Luna was first in the water but surprisingly spent lots of time playing with Frosty just a few metres of shore,Luna may have been the smallest pup but was the most ferocious and did bully the others.nipping there flippers if she wanted on the haul-out.Frosty on the other hand was the most gentle of the grey seals who was seen pushing Pickle on to the haul-out when he was unwell,then lying next to him in what seemed a protective manner and would not allow any other seal on the haul-out.

Marley hit the water and sped off only to be seen as a dot in the distance,which is a normal behaviour for a grey seal on release.
Breeze played in the seaweed in the shore before swimming off into the deeper water he was spotted porpoising further out in the bay.

Roxy was the triumph of the grey season for all at the hospital having overcome her dreadful injuries she swam over to the rocks covered in seaweed and played for an hour,sticking her head in the water under the seaweed and generally enjoying being back home once more.

We would like to thank all the medics who have helped us in the hospital over the last months :Tracey, Jim, Jane, Kelly and Jenny and Paul Laird(who travelled to the frozen north and gave up their Christmas).We also thank all the medics who have braved the vicious Caithness weather to pick up seals in those pitch black stormy nights.






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Thursday 6 August 2009

common seal pup release 15th of feb









On the 15th of feb Bella,Kessock and Arnie were released they had been waiting for a good weather window and For Pickle to catch up with there weight gains.The calm weather arrived but unfortunatly Pickle had not reached target weight for a common seal 30kg therefore could not be released yet.



Several medics from both Caithness and Inverness joined us for the joyful day.It is always a great feeling to see all your hard work come to fruition, as you watch the pups swim off into the sea.