Only a month old and already in trouble

Seals are such endearing creatures, with their big wet eyes, puppy like faces, curious nature and cuddly fat bodies. There’s something vulnerable about them that makes people want to hold them and protect them. Though nothing could be further from the truth as seals are wild animals and are perfectly adapted to their surroundings.

Once in a while though, something goes wrong, and they wash ashore unable to fend for themselves and needing help. So it was with Mignon, a Grey Seal pup. Mignon was found yesterday on a beach in north Brittany. Only a month old and Mignon was already in trouble. She landed scared, hungry, dehydrated and all alone on the beach.

Sneaking up on a seal
Luckily she was found and was brought to a local bird sanctuary for initial care. They alerted the Oceanopolis seal rescue squad who went to pick her up and bring her to the rehabilitation clinic.

Mignon arrived at the Oceanopolis’ seal clinic in a special large plastic crate in the back of a van, and was carried into the sterile clinic. She was afraid and didn’t understand what was happening to her. With great skill, the centre staff – Patrick, Christine and Jean Marc, all in sterilised clothing – tipped her out of the crate and manoeuvred her to the middle of the room where they had the space to carry out their work. Before receiving treatment though, she had to be ‘disarmed’ – in her fear, Mignon defended herself admirably with her small, yet sharp teeth, and strong jaws. To disarm her, Patrick distracted her by dangling his thick glove in front of her face and, while she was trying to bite the glove, he sneaked round behind her and quickly sat on her. He held one gloved hand in her mouth to stop her biting anyone else, and kept her flippers out of the way of Jean Marc with his knees, who had to carry out the tests and administer care.

Mignon was weighed, measured, her temperature was taken, and she was checked all over for wounds, which were treated with antiseptic. She was given food, a rehydration solution, a bout of vitamins, and before being put into a holding pen, a blood sample was taken. All the while, Christine was preparing treatments and food, and was writing Mignon’s data on her newly opened file. And all the while Mignon was angrily hissing and snarling at anyone coming near. Her behaviour was a good sign that her condition was not serious and, with a little care, she would be released in spring to continue her life in the wild.

Constant monitoring

In the meantime, Mignon will stay by herself in her holding pen in the clinic until she is deemed healthy, has reached 20 kgs, and can feed by herself. Until then she will be constantly monitored and hand fed. Once she passes the test she will be put into a small tank with one other seal, gradually progressing through a number of steps until she can join the large group of seals in the big tank. Once there, she will learn to fend for herself in a group, which will stand her in good stead when she’s released in early spring.

Thanks to Christine Dumas, Patrick le Menec, Jean Marc Menegaz, and Sami Hassani for their collaboration.

Photos:
Photo 1: Mignon arrives at the rehabilitation centre in a large plastic crate.
Photo 2: A rehydration solution is given.
Photo 3: Mignon's temperature is taken.