'Freddy' the rescued seal finds company
Freddy, the first rescued seal pup in the season for IFAW-supported British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) in the UK, is happy to share life with another fellow Harbor seal undergoing rehabilitation. Freddy rescued just a few weeks ago, was named after International Fund for Animal Welfare C.E.O. - Fred O’Regan, so we are particularly proud of this little one. The following is a report from BDMLR staff on the ground working around the clock to care for Freddy and Jules - her companion.
They are both doing well now with Freddy weighing in this morning at 12.2 kgs. So in the three weeks from when she arrived, she has gained 4 kgs and yesterday was finished with milk, having been weaned over the past four days.
We have to get their systems used to eating solid food, so for now it’s only small trimmed-down herring. Once their systems gets used to the fish we will increase it to a percentage of their body weight per day, divided over four feeds.
Freddy and Jules have been together in the same pen for around ten days now and seem to be bonding well. Sharing the pen is essential to their mental welfare as it means they get their stimulation from each other rather than looking to us.
Freddy and Jules are swimming between feeds and are very playful in the water; they have burst a lot of the inflatable toys now that they have teeth. We have been putting child’s arm floaty wings with them half-filled with water then blown up. They seem to be throwing them around until they burst, then they lose interest.
Hopefully within the next few weeks Freddy and Jules will be eating for themselves, once they do this they will go to the outside pool where they will fatten up and when they’re up to 30kg, they will be released back into the wild.
For more information on the International Fund for Animal Welfare's efforts for seals, please visit www.ifaw.org.
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Awww Freddy! Don't you just love happy endings?
Posted by: octacular musteline | August 05, 2009 at 12:54 PM