Rare seal pup whose coat looks almost black rescued off the Cornish coast
Little Egg, who has melanism, is recovering from a suspected respiratory infection
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary has shared gorgeous photos of one of its latest patients - a rare grey seal whose coat looks almost black!
The female was rescued after being found malnourished and with a suspected respiratory infection.
The animal care team say 'Egg' has melanism, where there is increased development of the dark-coloured pigment in the skin or hair.
The chances of pups being born with melanism are 1 in 400!
Staff say the fact she is a female makes it that much rarer, as they are naturally lighter in colour than male seals.
Egg is recovering well at the Gweek sanctuary's hospital and slowly gaining weight.
Despite going through three lockdowns and various restrictions, the pup rescue and rehabilitation work at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary has carried on as normal, battling against devastating financial losses.
The Sanctuary have continued their vital conservation work in order to support seal pups from around the Cornish coastline.
This season so far, the Sanctuary have had 36 casualties of the sea go through their seal rehabilitation programme, with 16 of these pups now successfully released back into the wild after receiving expert care and treatment from the Sanctuary’s animal care team.
Each season is different, but the level of care that goes into seal rehabilitation remains the same and here are a few of the statistics from the season so far:
Youngest pup - 2 days old
Males: females - 16:20
Number of pups - 36
Number released - 16
Total no. of hours spent rehabbing pups this season = 4,300hrs
Total no. of weighing sessions = 561 sessions
Amount of fish used (mackerel, herring) = over 6 tonnes (£8,000)
The main seal species the Sanctuary rescue and rehabilitate is the Grey seal, with the UK being home to 38% of the world’s population and are listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species, which is why the pup rehabilitation work that takes place at the Sanctuary is so vital.
Despite the lockdown, according to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue call out data, the amount of call outs from members of the public coming across a seal pup on the beach in 2020 was on par with the same amount in 2019.
This means that despite the lockdown and lack of tourism in Cornwall, locals using the beaches and coastal paths for daily exercise much more due to closed facilities are thankfully keeping an eye out for seals in need of help.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue believe much of the increase in callouts they have had in recent years is due to human pressures - climate change causing more frequent storms in autumn and winter; human disturbance weakening resting seals who are chased into the sea or attacked by dogs; and pollution issues.
Only 25% of these call outs required the pup needing to be uplifted from the beach, meaning that in 75% of cases, a pup may simply need assessing, relocating or monitoring rather than being rescued which is always the last case scenario as it is always best for a pup to be able to thrive in the wild.
For those pups that do require help getting back on their flippers, the Sanctuary is here to provide medical care from their team of marine experts.
It costs the Sanctuary £2,000 on average per pup to get them back to full health and to be released back to the sea. In 2020 the Sanctuary lost over £700,000 and are facing financial losses now in 2021 going through their third closure whilst still looking after resident animals that they provide permanent homes to as well as rehabilitating seal pups that need their care.