Fur seal passes health checks
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research will tag Bella’s flipper before they release her so that she will be easily identifiable by scientists when she hauls out on one of the islands in the Southern Ocean.
The uShaka Sea World Rehabilitation Facility said the young Sub-Antarctic fur seal, Bella, admitted into rehab three weeks ago recently passed her veterinary health checks.
Bella was first seen in the breakwaters at Southbroom in September before hauling out a few days later at Uvongo.
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) said Bella has been an easy patient from day one.
It added that from being irresistibly cute with hypnotising doleful eyes, Bella soon had the staff lining up to care for her.
“She started eating food from the trainer’s hands as well as pieces tossed into the water within days of arrival. Sometimes it takes older seals a week or two to accept dead fish from a human caregiver. Her favourite food is pilchards, followed by hake and cuttlefish. She loves playing with her food, especially squid which she tosses around the pool before eating. She has gained 20% of her weight on admission which is a good thing for such a young seal,” said Saambr, adding that they are making arrangements for Bella to fly to Port Elizabeth where she will join two other subadult seals being cared for by staff at Bayworld.
The association added that the two Bayworld seals are also ready for release, saying that all three seals will be taken out to sea and released together into the Agulhas current – which will hopefully help them find their way home.
Saambr has also thanked members of the public who donated teddies to help Bella settle down.
“Unfortunately, Bella was not as enamoured with the teddies as we thought she would be and seemed to prefer moving objects. Sometimes she lay close to the teddies but most times she chose to rest by herself on her flat red mat. She was at her best when the animal care staff were trying to clean her enclosure. The hoses and brooms presented ideal opportunities for some great seal fun and delayed cleaning sessions,” said Saambr.
It added that they will tag Bella’s flipper before they release her so that she will be easily identifiable by scientists when she hauls out on one of the islands in the Southern Ocean.
“We will keep you posted and let you know when Bella is released,” it said.
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