Loki, Freya and Juno back at home

Loki, Freya and Juno back at home

31 October 2018

IT was time to say goodbye and good luck as Exploris Aquarium released three seals back into the sea at the weekend.

Loki, Freya and Juno were deemed able to survive on their own as they were coaxed into the water at Knockinelder beach, near Portaferry, on Sunday morning.

Well-wishers gathered to see the once abandoned pups slither their way into adulthood, hopefully to join a local colony and stay within our shores.

It was a job well done for the Exploris seal rescue team in Portaferry, who have tended to the seals since they were rescued from various locations over the summer months.

Amy Robinson, head of the Seal Sanctuary at Exploris, explained: “Coming into this pupping season, we received a lot of very small pups who had become separated from their mothers. 

“Whether this was from human disturbance or inexperienced mother, we will never know. Juno and Freya were seals that came in very small and required around the clock care as newborns. 

“Loki was a different type of rehab. He had spent time with his mother but when it came to being independent he failed. He just didn’t know how to eat fish. It took us about a week to show him how.”

After an initial assessment, each seal began their journey to rehabilitation receiving extensive medical care, to ensure infections were kept at bay and housed in hospital pen whilst learning how to eat fish. 

Once they reached about 15kg and could self-feed, they were moved to the outdoor pools where they learnt how to socialise with other seals. 

At this stage, all human contact was kept to a minimum to ensure a successful re-introduction to the sea.

Two days before their release, the seals were discharged from the seal unit as they had successfully reached their target weight of over 30kg and were in good health, ready to take on adult life in the wild.

Ms Robinson said that Knockinelder Cove provides a great area for the pups’ first few hours to get used to having no walls as they swim.

“We never release a seal on its own and through our weekly weigh-in, we can identify release ‘teams’ such as Loki, Freya and Juno being our first for this season,” she added.

Ahead of the release all seals are tagged on their rear flipper to help identify them. 

Over time this will be used to see how rehabbed seals influence the wild population through breeding. Exploris hope to see Freya and Juno in approximately four years’ time with healthy and thriving pups on the beach.

To date Exploris Aquarium has rescued and released over 500 common and grey seals back into the wild. 

This is made possible with e support from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, a vigilant public and Exploris’ new Adopt a Seal programme. 

More information of the 2018/19 seals can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @explorisni.