The jury received dozens of entries through their appeal in the ‘Robbenbulletin’, asking people to create something that would capture their memories of a visit to the Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre. Ten-year-old Moigimi Ajeki’s poem ‘Moppet’ won first prize (see photo) and was invited to come on a Beautiful Day.
On a sandbank, she was allowed to open Bianca’s travel basket and release her into the wild along with another seal, Pirke. Even though Bianca is virtually blind, she had no difficulty in finding her way to the water. Moments later, the two were seen playing together in the water.
Moigimi was so touched by the scene that she had tears running down her cheeks. She had been told that blind seals have as much chance as other seals to survive in the wild, because, in the cloudy water, they rely mainly on senses other than sight. With their whiskers, for instance, they are able to pick up vibrations of fish swimming in their area. Afterwards, Moigimi said that she would never ever forget this day for the rest of her life!
09-07-2006 Source: SRRC
