Cape Town – While the Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA respond to an average of 75 seal-related distress calls a year, the latest incident brought some positivity, with the seal heading back to freedom happy, and healed.
The CoGH SPCA Wildlife Department said it responded to a call of a sick and injured seal stranded amid beachgoers and their dogs on Blouberg Beach.
Cancelling his dinner plans to answer the call, SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse arrived at the beach with a helping hand and a plan.
Assessing the seal to be underweight and with a nasty gash to its right elbow, likely to be an injury from an embedded fishing hook, Pieterse loaded the 80kg-plus seal into a purpose-designed box for transport to the SPCA Animal Hospital for emergency care.
“Over the following days, the seal (nicknamed Blue) was fed a protein-packed diet and given lots of time to rest her frazzled flippers while her elbow wound was cleaned twice daily – no easy task for a seal her size, but she sensed we were only trying to help and eventually would calmly look the other way while soothing wound-care was applied.
“By day five, she was beginning to gaze longingly out of her enclosure fence towards the sea and becoming increasingly restless so we knew it was her time to go home, as seals will get depressed if kept from their colony for too long,” the animal rescue organisation said.
According to the SPCA, getting a large and tired seal into a transport container is not an easy task – they will fight to their last against anything that might threaten their freedom.
“This task takes six or seven strong men and women with a lot of patience and understanding of seal behaviour to get the job done.
“After about forty minutes of gentle coaxing, pleading and tempting with fish, Blue was safely in the transport box and on her way home,” said the Cape of Goodhope SPCA.
“For the SPCA wildlife team that was responsible for her capture and care, her return and release; these are the moments that make it all worthwhile.”
The CoGH SPCA has launched a Seal Safe Squad and are looking for volunteers to join its seal-spotting beach crew and to help be the eyes and ears for seals around our coastline.
Visit https://capespca.co.za/get-involved/volunteer/ for more information.
Cape Times