On December 5th SRRC workers received some alarming news. A voluntary seal first-aid worker told us he had seen a weak seal which was in bad condition and had a large transmitter on its back. There was also a cable that ran over the animal’s head towards its mouth. It has not been possible, partly due to bad weather, to rescue the seal.
This is the second seal this year that is suffering problems due to having a transmitter construction attached to its body. Last year October, the SRRC received a number of calls about a ‘transmitter seal’ near IJmuiden. Unfortunately, that animal was found in March this year after it had died of starvation on Vlieland.
The animal that was seen on the 5th of December has probably been kitted out with the transmitter in Germany rather than Holland. The transmitters are being used by the university of Kiel in cooperation with rehabilitation centre Friedrichskoog in Schleswig-Holstein. The red transmitter is about 10 x 20 cm in size and is attached to the seal in a blue neoprene bag. The transmitter is attached to a sensor by a cable, and the sensor is stuck under the mouth of the seal. The researchers hope to be able to determine how often the seal opens and shuts its mouth.
We hope that we will be able to help this animal before it is too late, when this animal dies of starvation and fatigue.
06-12-2006 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
