Seal pup ‘doing well’ following abandonment
RON WAS FOUND IN STRANDHILL AFTER HIS PREMATURE BIRTH
A seal pup who was found malnourished and dehydrated in Strandhill is well on the road to recovery.
‘Ron’ was brought to the seal rehabilitation centre in Wexford back in May, where he has been cared for ever since.
Seal Rescue Ireland is the only rehabilitation centre for seals in Ireland, and they rely solely on volunteers.
Due to the distance between Wexford and Sligo, Ron’s journey to the south-east took part in three legs through a network of volunteers.
“Ron came into us in May. He was just eight kilos back then. But now he weighs almost 12 kilos so he is doing really well,” said Melanie of Seal Rescue Ireland.
Ron was born five weeks prematurely, and was abandoned by his mother.
“Since he was premature he was very underweight and very small so he did not have an ability to eat by himself.
“We tube fed him with electrolytes because he was malnourished and dehydrated. So now we’re tube feeding him fish soup which is all blended.
“And then we just have to see if there are anymore issues that we will have to look after,” added Melanie.
Ron was found by a member of the public who reported the seal to Seal Rescue Ireland.
“This has been a record-breaking year for us. This time last year we attended to seven common seal pups, and we’ve had 24 so far this year.
“Common seals give birth in the summer so while we were expecting seals to be coming into us, Ron coming in back in May was just unprecedented and it almost set off a chain reaction.”
Ron’s rehabilitation will cost around €3,000, and a gofundme page has been set up to assist with the costs.
If you want to help, check out www.gofundme.com/Help-Ronthe-orphaned-seal-pup.
Melanie says the public are advised not to approach a seal if it looks in trouble.
“What we ask people to do is to call us if they see a seal, do not approach the seal because a mother could abandon a pup. A mother will always do a better job of looking after the pup than we do.
“Mothers will abandon their pups for a number of reasons. They might be disturbed by humans or dogs, there might a strong surf where there are wash outs. Common seals can swim within hours of being born.
“So if you do see something, observe it from afar and contact us. We’ ll ask the person a few questions about the seal and how it looks, and we’ ll ask for a photo.
“We are run solely by volunteers. We are the only seal rehabilitation centre in Ireland so we’re always looking for volunteers.”
For more check out http:// www.sealrescueireland.org/