At the end of July, a young ringed seal was found behind the dyke at Wierum in Friesland. The animal was exhausted and in desperate need for help. Luckily, Klaas Akkerman who found the animal immediately warned the SRRC, so a rescue mission could be started immediately. So, Keije (as the animal has been named, after Akkerman’s grandson) was quickly brought to the SRRC, where it was placed in one of the quarantine areas.
Ringed seals live in the Arctic Ocean; they have their young in the spring. The young stay with their mother for approximately two months, after which they are independent and have to fend for themselves. Keije was apparently lost. In the end, deadly fatigued, he washed up along the Dutch coast. The SRRC has rehabilitated ringed seals successfully before. We expect to be able to release Keije soon, when he will be fully recovered. This will probably happen – just as with his predecessors - far beyond the Wadden Sea.
08-10-2007 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
