Seal rescue
At A Seal, seals are rescued and cared for. These are young seal pups that have lost their mothers or seals that are injured or ill. Once the seals are completely healthy and able to survive in the wild, they are released back into the sea. No seals live permanently at A Seal. Before they are released, the seals go through a care plan. Here’s how it works.
Step 1 • Seals in distress
Reports about seals are received via the emergency number: 144. Seal watchers ensure that all marine mammals in distress are taken in and cared for. Not all lonely seals on the beach need help. That is why they are first observed for at least 24 hours before being transported. At A Seal, we only rehabilitate seals.
Step 2 • Quarantaine
After the seals arrive at A Seal, they spend the first 21 days in an isolated room. We do this to prevent viruses from spreading. The vet examines the animal and decides what treatment it will need to recover.
Stap 3 • gain strength
After quarantine, they move to a new home, the sun room. Here, they have space to continue to grow stronger and play together. Some seals can already eat whole fish independently, but others still need help with this. A volunteer puts the fish in the seal’s mouth until the seal can eat independently.
Step 4 • preparing for release
Once the seal is strong enough, they move to the outdoor pools. In the outdoor area, the focus is on returning the seals to the wild. Here, whole fish are thrown into the water, and the seals learn to catch and eat fish themselves.
Step 5 • Release
All seals that have been rescued at A Seal are released back into the wild as soon as they have recovered. In order to be strong enough to survive independently, they must be at a healthy weight. Releases usually take place on the beaches at Ouddorp or Renesse.
Seal rescue
