In the past ten days, 25 critically ill, young, common seals have washed up along the shore. They are shown on the photos below. They were born this summer, so they are only six months old. Today (November 29th), another two were found. Unfortunately, three seals choked to death in the worms that were blocking their windpipe.
The photos are telling: all animals have haemorrhages, inflamed joints and pneumonia. Sometimes they have even gone blind. All these problems are caused by lungworms, a kind of ‘paediatric disease’ which young seals usually outgrow, but now they are chocking in them.
Our colleagues in Germany are seeing the same distressing picture.
Seals brought in for rehabilitation weigh between 12 and 20 kilos. Research shows us that if a young animal weighs less than 23 kilos, it will not be able to survive the winter. Luckily, these young animals were found by passers-by or by our Seal First-Aiders, volunteers from the coastal islands. We have already rehabilitated a total of 195 common seals at the SRRC this year.
With lots of love and good care we will be able to carry most of these animals through their illness. After a rehabilitation period of about four months, they will all be released back to the Wadden Sea as healthy animals. We hope that they will be able to grow old there.
11-29-2008 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
