Last week, Lenie ‘t Hart visited the rehabilitation centre in Foca (near Izmir) where SRRC-worker Richard Dijkema has been looking after a young monk seal, in cooperation with workers of the Turkish organisation SAD-AFAG. Monk seals are a very rare and endangered species. They live in caves on the Mediterranean Sea’s islands near Greece, Turkey, Madeira and, a bit further a field, along the coast of Mauritania (North-west Afrika).
It is the first time that a monk seal is being rehabilitated in Turkey. Therefore, this animal (who has been named Badem) is receiving much media-interest. Mega-concern owner Mustafa Koç has adopted Badem. Thanks to him and the help of the fantastic major and inhabitants of the village Foca an excellent shelter, fully kitted out with a kitchen, pool and plateau to lie on, has been built for the animal. All the local fishermen are very concerned about Badem’s progress (he has already gained ten kilo’s in weight). Often they bring him live octopus. This is necessary to teach Badem to feed without human help. Because their digestive system is very vulnerable, caring for a monk seal is a specialist job. This is possibly due to the fact that monk seals, contrary to other seal species, are nursed for many months by their mother. This means that Richard and his Turkish colleagues have to prepare fish meal from carefully filleted fish every day. Not a bone may remain.
The SRRC has been cooperating with the Turkish SAD-AFAG organisation since the nineties. Even though monk seals have never been rehabilitated in Turkey before, a lot of attention has always been paid to the almost extinct animal. SAD-AFAG workers have been trained in Pieterburen to look after seals, autopsies have been carried out on the dead bodies of monk seals and the two organisations worked together (thanks to a personal donation made by Prins Bernhard) in cleaning oil-polluted caves near Bodrum.
If everything goes according to plan Badem will have gained enough weight by April to be able to survive in the wild on his own. Until then seal-carer Richard will be involved in the rehabilitation of the monk seal, even though the number of seals being rehabilitated in Pieterburen has reached a record number. Actually, we are quite proud to be the only rehabilitation centre worldwide to have the knowledge and expertise to successfully raise a monk seal.
15-01-2007 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
