Stranded seal goes home
Minion was injured and in a poor condition when he was rescued in Port Edward.
AFTER seven months of intensive rehabilitation Minion, a young sub-Antarctic fur seal found stranded and in a severely compromised condition at Port Edward, is on his way home.
He was returned to the ocean 15 nautical miles from Cape Recife and about 12 nautical miles from the closest shore on Friday, May 2, just before sunrise. Once the door of his crate was opened he went straight to the sea without hesitation. He initially seemed to head towards land but then curved south towards the continental shelf, which is exactly what his carers hoped he would do.
When he was brought to uShaka Sea World after his stranding, on September 28, it was found that he had sustained injuries to his flipper and lower back, possibly due to a shark bite. After a few days in the care of the uShaka rehabilitation staff he started eating well and it was clear he had a strong will to survive.
His progress was slow but steady and it took seven months before he was fit enough for release. For the first few months he did little other than lie on the side of the pool, perking up only at feeding times. As he grew stronger he spent more and more time in the water and by January this year he was spending the better half of the day swimming, grooming himself and strengthening his back muscles, which had suffered trauma of unknown origin.
Minion was not an affectionate seal and could be quite cantankerous if he did not receive the response he wanted from his caregivers. His great passion was eating and when the cooler box emptied after a healthy meal he was vocally unforgiving and took a while to settle down again.
He was dearly loved by members of the staff who were in awe of his tenacious spirit and they dedicated hundreds of hours to caring for this little champion. Finally the day arrived when the uShaka resident veterinarian gave him the all clear for release. uShaka Sea World is a long way from Minion’s home, which is probably somewhere in the region of Marion and Prince Edward Islands. He needed to be released as close to his feeding grounds as possible. In preparation for release he was flown to Bayworld in Port Elizabeth where he was fitted with a telonics satellite tag before he was taken out to sea in a ‘rubber duck’.
The uShaka team receives daily reports on Minion’s progress and will keep track of his movements over the next year. This data and the data transmitted by other seals fitted with satellite tags, including Selso, the elephant seal that was also rescued after being stranded on the South Coast, is being monitored and managed by Oceans and Coasts. For pics of the recent South Coast seal rescue, click here
