Sad ending for blind seal Teatree
A BLIND grey seal named Teatree, who featured in this newspaper two weeks ago following a visit to Courtown’s Seal Rescue Ireland, has sadly passed away.
Plans were in place for Teatree to take up a permanent home at Fota Wildlife Park in Cork this summer joining another seal, Ariel, as it was concluded that it would be unsafe for Teatree to return to the sea.
In a statement, Seal Rescue Ireland confirmed the death on Thursday evening and described the devastation and disappointment felt by the team.
‘After him being through so much and spending so long with us, working on training sessions with him, and bonding with him, his loss has completely shaken our team. His eye surgery went well in all respects and was completed, however, during recovery he stopped breathing, and despite the fantastic vet team at UCD Veterinary Hospital spending an hour trying to resuscitate him, it was unsuccessful,’ the statement read.
The purpose of the surgery was to remove one of Teatree’s protruding eyes before his own move to Fota, given the risk of further injury and infection.
The team says that although the operation was deemed essential, nothing could have prepared them for such a turn of events.
‘We are left so sad and disappointed that his journey has ended in this way, even though we know it’s part and parcel of our rescue work.
‘Anaesthesia on seals is known to be risky due to their unique adaptations to underwater life. What is known as the “Dive Reflex”, is an adaptation where seals hold their breath for diving underwater to hunt, but during anaesthetic, this reflex can result in the seal not breathing spontaneously after anaesthesia, and ultimately leading to a cardiac arrest’.
CEO Melanie Croce said that all at Seal Rescue Ireland will miss Teatree.
‘He will not have died in vain because we have learned so much from him, and he has inspired so many people - from our staff, to the many visitors who had the privilege of visiting him, and his many adopters who supported him through his journey. Even in his final surgery, he enabled vet students the privilege of observing and learning about a species they would rarely interact with, and in his passing, he will further teach about seal anatomy to help other seals in the future’.